Angel from Hell
by XxAriaxX
Summary: What happens when you mix hot looks with a bad reputation? You get Lily Evans - a Slytherin who has stolen the hearts of Slytherins and others all around. But what happens when the next heart happens to be the one of James Potter - the Gryffindor Chaser?
1. Meet Lily Evans

A/N: As I said in the summary, this is just an L/J fic that I wanted to try out. It may not work, but if you like it, please review and tell me so I can continue. I know I shouldn't be starting any new stories right now, but I just had to try this out.

*

Liliane Evans was a Slytherin. She wasn't just any Slytherin, though. She was one of the meanest kids on the block, as some people called her. Others called her the Tiger Lily, the Slimy Slytherin Sorceress, and other hateful names. And they had a point. It often amazed the teachers how she had happened to be a girl. She could shinny up trees faster than any other Slytherin; she could swim faster, fly higher, and suck up to teachers more than even her best friends – Severus Snape, Narcissa Moore, Lucius Malfoy, and Martha Summers – could even imagine.

She got good grades; that is, her grades were pretty good for a Slytherin. The teachers felt that she was as good as a Ravenclaw. Most Slytherin boys would go head-over-heels for her. In addition, Hogwarts was the one place where she had friends. All in all, life treated Lily well… in the opinion of others.

The truth was that Lily was just like any other girl or boy attending the school. She had a family, friends, and above all, she had emotions and feelings. Her tomboy appearance and personality was just a part of who she was. She often tried explaining this to her friends, but they didn't understand. Even Martha and Severus, who were almost as close as siblings, knew that something was eating her, but they could never understand the real reason. They would just figure she was grieving over her grades.

What was really bothering her, was that people would just look at the stereotype her. She was a Slytherin, and like all Slytherins, she was mean, had a fiery temper, and was good at hurling insults every which way. But she was more than just that. All Slytherins were. Or, at least, she and her friends were. They were human beings; they were witches and wizards; they were living, breathing, walking, and talking _people. But somehow, though other Slytherins knew it, those from other houses just didn't recognize that simple fact._

To Ravenclaws, Slytherins were stupid name-calling idiots that couldn't put two and two together. But that was wrong. They could. Hufflepuffs thought of them as slimy, scheming, rats that had nothing better to do than foil others' happiness. But they weren't always happy when others were mad; on the contrary, they had feelings and knew that Hufflepuffs had them too. As for Gryffindors, it was a different matter entirely.

Gryffindors and Slytherins had been enemies ever since the school had started. Even the two founders of the school after which the houses had been named, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, were nearly enemies. It was just a 'thing' that all Gryffindors hated Slytherins and vice versa. It was just one fact about the school that had been going on for centuries.

But Lily never understood why. She would have liked to have friends in other houses. She would even go as far as gladly give up her position in Slytherin to have fun and get teacher-recognition with the Gryffindors, have endless study-sessions with the Ravenclaws, and do backbreaking work with the Hufflepuffs.

But she knew she would never last a day among the midst of the other houses. It was as though 'Slytherin' was a completely different ethnic background that she possessed. The other students were just blissfully unaware of the political situation within the school. Lily couldn't do a thing, and she didn't like it. She felt completely helpless as time carried on. First year, second year, third year… it was all the same. She was Liliane Evans; the girl who could outrun Amos Diggory, the best Keeper Slytherin ever had, Slytherin's most prized possession, and other such things. She didn't even know about the 'popular' kids in school.

Quidditch was the only thing that ever helped her to keep in touch with what was going on outside of her own house. She knew the other Quidditch players by sight and name, even if she hadn't met them.

Even at home, she felt unloved. She had always had a fascination for what the boys at her Muggle elementary school would do. Even though she was a girl, she was always picked first for softball, soccer, and football. She didn't mind being tackled by the other boys, and she would pick fights more than anyone else in the school. On certain rare occasions, she had been sent to the principal's office for punching a sixth grader on the nose. But this was all when she was a third grader, much before she had entered the world of magic.

When she finally did find out about the magic she possessed, her parents had been proud of her, and had hoped that she would finally get over her boyish ways and start behaving like a young lady. But they were wrong. They soon got sick and tired of her. In fact, they practically gave up on her ever acting like a girl. They started paying more attention to Lily's sister, Petunia, and soon Lily was more of an outsider that just happened to live with the other three.

Even Petunia, who had been her best friend until Lily received her letter to Hogwarts, despised her. Petunia hadn't minded much that Lily was more like a boy who looked like a girl than a girl who acted boyish, but she had rather used it to her advantage. And Lily, being the small child she was at the time, gave in innocently to whatever her older sister asked of her.

But that simple letter changed her life drastically. Often times, Lily would reach under her pillow in her dorm in Hogwarts and pull out the crumpled photograph that she kept hidden under there. It was a picture that had been taken at her tenth birthday, just a year before she had received her letter. She was wearing a pair of muddy jeans and a scruffy t-shirt, whereas Petunia was wearing a frilly pink party dress. She was standing at a picnic table in front of her gigantic cake with her parents on either side of her. (Petunia had been taking the picture.) The words on it said, "Happy Tenth Birthday, Lily, from your loving parents and sister." Those words meant nothing but a whole lot of rubbish now.

Lily tried her best to forget about what had happened. It worked most of the time. But when it wouldn't, she would get nightmares and all sorts of sad memories would stream through her mind, like the day when their old house, which Lily had grown up in for most of her life, burnt down, the day her Aunt Aggie died, and the day Petunia had slapped her across the face.

When such memories came to her, she would pick up her Silver Arrow broom and go down to the Quidditch pitch and fly like crazy. Sometimes her anger would show even in practices with her team, and her friends often got worried about her. But she would just wave them aside, with the phrase "I'm fine" and mount her broom again.

But not even Quidditch, which she loved so much and played with all her heart, not even it could keep her from longing for a day where everything would turn normal, the day when she and her friends would be finally accepted into the magical world of Hogwarts.

Yet another thing that Miss Evans didn't know, was that this day would soon come, when she was least expecting it.

*

A/N: So, that's it! Please review to tell me if you like it so I'll continue, though I probably will anyway because I really want to write this story.


	2. Library Meeting

A/N: First of all, thanks for all the reviews. I got a lot more than I thought I would! I'm going to continue this story after all. Please keep reading and reviewing it, and then I'll keep writing it! And, like most of my stories, I have no clue what's going to happen. (I know that sounds stupid, but oh well.) So, if you have any suggestions if you email them to me or include them in your reviews I might use them. Okay, that's enough of my babbling; here's Chapter Two!

*

"Earth to James Potter, Earth to James Potter… communication cannot be established. Remus, we've got a problem here," Sirius Black said jokingly to his best friend. 

"Hey, James, what's up?" Remus Lupin said, prodding him on the head.

"What, what happened?" James said, coming out of his trance.

"Let me put it like this. You were sitting there with your fork half way to your mouth and you've been staring off into space for about, let's see, five minutes. Is that clear?" Sirius said grinning. He'd known James since they were two. Usually when such things happened, he was staring at someone (undoubtedly a girl) rather than off into space.

"Oh, I was just, well, thinking, that's all," James said.

James had been thinking a lot lately. It was starting to worry his friends a lot. Since when had James started thinking? Well, sure he thought a lot. He thought up pranks to play on the Slytherins; he did his homework pretty well, not to mention help Peter Pettigrew, another of his friends, with his homework; he even thought of how Sirius could dump his weekly girlfriends without breaking their hearts.

The worrying thing was, usually when he was thinking about such things, he would tell his friends. Recently, he hadn't told them anything. He also seemed to be studying a lot more too, even though he already had the highest grades in the whole first year. What was the point of studying? Okay, so they had to take their OWLs next year, but that was no reason to get over-exhausted a year early, was it? Apparently, in James' case it was.

"What's up Prongs?" Peter asked worriedly. Prongs was James' nickname. All four of them had nicknames. They had gotten these nicknames when the three of them, Peter, James, and Sirius, had become Animagi. They could now transform into a specific animal at will. The reason for doing this illegally was because Remus Lupin was a werewolf. His friends had figured out in their third year, and instead of abandoning him, they worked out the process of becoming an Animagi and then underwent it. Since they couldn't accompany a full-grown werewolf in human form, they now accompanied him as a stag (James), hound (Sirius), and a rat (Peter). (A/N: I know most of you know this, but I wanted to include it anyway. Sorry if it's annoying when I do things like that.)

"Nothing's wrong, Wormtail old pal. Why would anything be wrong?" James replied jovially.

"Well, seeing that you've been 'thinking' a lot lately, and since you've suddenly become completely disconnected. Really, James, what's eating you? You haven't been yourself lately. No pranks, no jokes… it used to be hard to shut you up and now you won't even _start talking. Something has to be wrong. Otherwise, something must be wrong with us. And if such a thing is true, I'll eat my hat!" Sirius said. James was like his brother. This sudden change in his attitude was disturbing, to say the least._

Looking around at them, James could tell that his friends were really worked up over his situation. But could he trust them? Could he tell them the truth? He just wasn't sure. He knew something was up, but it was only a hunch, because he didn't have any proof to go by. Sighing, he decided that he'd just have to try and make them understand.

"Guys, I know this sounds weird, but I think something's up, and it's really annoying when you know something… bad... is going to happen and you can't do anything about it. Do you know what I mean? It's as though you're completely helpless…" James tried to explain.

"What's going to happen? What possibly could happen? Sure, that Voldemort guy could do something, but he hasn't done anything in ages. What would make him start up again now? He's as inactive as a dead volcano. I'll tell you that much," Remus said, trying his best to console his friend.

"Come on James, let's play chess," Peter said, in an attempt to cheer James up.

"Yeah, they're right James. You can't worry about spilt milk. And no one even knows where old Voldie is, so what's the point of worrying? Listen to Peter and just keep cool and have fun. That's my motto," Sirius said. But his cheerfulness was to no avail. James just shook his head and said that they didn't understand. 

"Don't worry about me, guys. You just go ahead and worry about your OWLs. I'll go to the library and see if I can find some more stuff to help us study," he said finally.

The other three took his word for it and went up to the Common Room to study. James turned and dragged himself up to the library. His real purpose was to try and find some leads as to what might happen, but he hadn't wanted his friends to know that, or else they would have tried to keep him from going to the library.

Since it was a Saturday, he didn't expect many people to be there. However, as he passed by a few rows of shelves, he noticed that there was someone sitting on the floor, just barely visible behind a large stack of books. Backtracking, James found the person. All he could see were a pair of legs sticking out from behind the books, and a bunch of red hair that was in a high ponytail – it was a girl.

Looking at the books she had next to her, James saw that they were books just like those that he himself would have liked to borrow. There were books about Voldemort, books about dreams, books about charms, enchantments, and spells, and books about curses. The girl seemed to have picked out nearly every book that could have helped James in his research.

Just when he was about to ask her if he could borrow one or two, a familiar, sneering voice came from behind some of the other shelves. Quickly ducking behind the bookshelf across from the girl, he heard a few pairs of footsteps walking towards the redhead.

The owner of the sneering voice said, "Come on Lils, you can't worry forever. Can't you just let all these books be? What's this? _The Dark Arts – Their Past and Future… what are you reading this for? Come __on Lily, you're just wasting your time."_

James recognized the voice. It belonged to none other than Severus Snape, James' archenemy from first year. Peeking cautiously from behind the shelf, he saw that he was in full view of the girl now, since he had hid on the opposite side as he had found her. He also happened to notice that he had never seen this girl before, which was strange since he was certain he would have noticed someone as pretty as her. Silky red hair, emerald green eyes, a small, delicate nose, and a laughing mouth… he had never thought such features would come together to produce such a masterpiece. But James couldn't dote on his newfound beauty for long, for he knew that it wouldn't be a good thing for him if Severus Snape and his gang found him staring at his apparent girlfriend.

"Sorry Sev, but I just have to do something. How can you all just live like that, as though you're a complete non-entity? It's unnerving!" Lily said. Even when she was angry, she had the most beautiful voice in the world.

It also occurred to him that Lily was a friend of Snape's. This meant that she wasn't just any Lily, but that she was Liliane Evans, the Slytherin Queen. It had been rumored that the first time someone asked her out, which also happened to be the last time, she had hexed them so many times that they had been in the Hospital Wing for two weeks. James didn't think he would live through such an experience.

"Liliane Evans, please don't do this. You're torturing us by burying yourself under these books. For God's sake, you're a Slytherin! And Slytherins don't study! Come on, let's go have some fun," a girl with silvery blond hair said.

"Where on earth will we have fun, Narcy? This is a school, not a playground. And school's are meant for studying, so unless you want me to make you do your homework, you'd better sit down and help me sort through these books."

Narcy… that would probably be Narcissa Moore. James sure knew who everyone in his year was. As James peered through the lines of books, he saw that one of the other two members of the group was another one of his so-called enemies. This blonde-haired idiot was Lucius Malfoy. All James knew of Malfoy was that he and Snape weren't really friends even though they hung out with the same three girls.

Something else that was more of a rumor than common knowledge was that Snape had certain… feelings for Lily, but this fact had never been proved. James severely hoped that she didn't return Snape's feelings. 'Narcy' and Lucius were an item, however. This was just a little information James had extracted from some of his fellow classmates. James was good at poking his nose in things and snooping about.

"Come on, Lily, just this once. Let's go back to the Common Room. It's so boring without you jabbering continuously in there. Please, Lily, come back with us," Snape begged her.

"Oh, alright, I will – oh, just take a look at this!" Lily exclaimed. James stiffened and tried his best to keep as quiet as possible.

"It says here in this book about the future that Voldemort's going to attack so many wizards, witches, and… and _Muggles, that he's going to become the most powerful wizard in the world! That can't be good… Oh, and it's continued on the next page. Hang on a sec. Okay, here we are. It says here that he's going to attack Hogwarts too! Oh, __no, he's going to end up killing a lot of students too… But wait, he's going to have his powers taken away from him too, in about, hmm… let me do the math. He's going to be gone in about seven years. Basically, he'll be killed three years after we're out of Hogwarts," Lily said, paraphrasing what she read._

She was quiet for a while after that. One fact about her that nearly no one in the entire school knew was that Lily Evans was a Muggle by birth, no matter how experienced in magic she seemed. Her parents had been killed soon after she joined Hogwarts, do Dumbledore let her live with a wizarding family who had already graduated – the Weasleys who had a baby whom Lily would baby-sit during the summertime. As much as she tried not to think of it, she had a soft corner for Muggles, and was quick to react when people insulted them or made fun of them. 

James, on the other hand, was in shock. He knew something was going to happen, and he wasn't the only one. It had already been predicted. He was in such shock that he started to back up without thinking. There was a large crash as the bookshelf behind him fell to the floor. Not wanting to be in a position where he could be accused for eavesdropping, he moved behind the fallen shelf and proceeded to pick it up. Before long, the five Slytherins had walked up to where he stood.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. James Potter," Snape spat at him.

"Mr. Potter, what on earth are you doing on the floor? You're supposed to be in Hell," Malfoy spoke as he stepped in front of his girlfriend.

"Who _are you, anyway?" spoke the girl that James didn't know._

"I'm James. Who're you?" James asked, trying to sound as cheerful as possible even though he wasn't sure what to do.

"Martha Summers, I dare say you've heard of me before?" she asked, with an air of someone who knew everything.

"Martha, don't talk to him. He isn't worth your time. Let's go," Snape said.

"So you think you're worth her time more than I am? You certainly have big hopes for someone so small, don't you?" James sneered.

"Shut your mouth!" Malfoy screamed.

"Why don't you?"

"Guys, please, stop arguing!" Lily broke in. She was eyeing James with a strange expression on her face. Apparently, she didn't recognize him even though they had played one another in Quidditch for the last three years. "Well, what's your name, and why are you here?"

"It's James Potter, like I said. What's yours?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"Liliane Evans but you haven't answered the second question," Lily said, smiling. She had taken a liking to James' warm personality, and at the same time she couldn't help but wonder what made his chocolate brown eyes sparkle so, and why his charcoal colored hair, which fell about all over the place, made him look even more attractive than he already was, what with his charming smile and his bright face.

James on the other hand was soon shaking his head and grinning. Liliane wasn't just pretty; she was smart. He was wondering how she could have been put in Slytherin. Surely, Gryffindor was a better place. At the very least, she should have qualified for Ravenclaw.

"I was here to do some studying. It's not exactly my favorite thing to do, but you can't go to school without doing some of it, can't you? Now, don't disagree with me. I know this from past experience." James was unconsciously staring at her with a dreamy expression in his eyes. He soon realized, however, and looked around, hoping that Lily and her friends hadn't noticed.  Lily, however, was busy staring at him with a similar expression. She soon glanced at Snape and Lucius, saw that they were eyeing James with great distaste, and decided to bring their happy conversation to a close.

"Well, it's been nice meeting you, James. Wait; hang on. James Potter – aren't you the Gryffindor Chaser? I knew I recognized you. How couldn't I have done so? You're the only one who's sent a Quaffle past me all the time," Lily said, suddenly recognizing him. She couldn't believe that she hadn't done so earlier. He had always caught her eye when she went to watch the games, and she had kept a mental record of the fact that she had never been able to pull of a quick save when he had tried to score. She had thought it maddening at first, but now that she somewhat knew him, she didn't mind. In fact, she was ready to laugh at her inability to do it.

"Oh yeah, you never have saved my scores, have you? Well, as you said, we'd better get going. At least, I should. I told my friends that I'd get them some materials so we could study. I'll see you later or at least at the next game," James said as he got up from the floor where he had been sitting. He hastily picked up a few of the fallen books without reading their titles, and made as though to leave. He had a lot to tell.

"Of course, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, how could I forget? Well, I'll see you then!" Lily shouted after his retreating back. When the door of the library shut behind him, she sighed and shook her head.

"Lily, what's wrong with you!" Severus shouted at her.

"What's wrong? Nothing's wrong, Sev. I told you that already. Now, if you _don't mind I'm going to get some lunch." And with that, she picked up a couple more of her books and followed James' steps out of the library._

"Don't worry, Sev."

"She was probably just trying to be nice. She doesn't know many people outside Slytherin, so she just wanted to make a good expression."

"Yeah, I bet that's it. Don't worry, she still likes you."

The consolations came from all around him. Even Lucius was trying to be a comfort for him. The four had been shocked at how she had readily accepted this James Potter, even though the others had had their doubts. Severus was simply furious.

"I'll show him. What does he think of himself? Does he think he can go around the school stealing people's friends just like that?" he snapped.

Over the last four years, Lily had become like Severus' little sister, or even more if it was possible. As a result, he was extremely over-protective of her. She didn't notice it, even though the others did, probably since she had always been pampered and belittled by all four of her friends. She was the youngest in her year, and therefore her friends saw it as their responsibility to make sure that she didn't get hurt, or sad, or any such thing.

Now however, they saw that their Little Lily had grown up after all. She had transformed from the tightly closed flower bud into a spectacular Tiger Lily. Life was certainly going to change, now that their younger sister had met James Potter.

*

A/N: There you are! That's Chapter Two. Please send me your suggestions via email or through a review. And I sincerely hope all my readers are enjoying this story. I promise you I won't abandon it for anything, and I'll strive to please all of you. Thanks for reading!

- KoolKitty


	3. Diary Entries

A/N: Thanks for so many reviews! I didn't expect quite so many! I love you guys! Okay, now here's the plan... I was thinking that since this story revolves mainly around Lily, I'm going to include some 'excerpts from the diary of Lily Evans' and that kind of thing. I may do some for James, but I'm not sure… review and tell me what you think! If you don't like this chapter, I'll stop the diary thing and maybe even replace this chapter. Thanks for reading!

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"Men are beasts. At least, they are most of the time. The rest of the time, they're too unpredictable and way too deep to comprehend. No matter how much Martha and Narcy try and convince me that Sev and Lucius are the most indifferent people in the world, "just like any other man" as Martha would put it, they aren't. Sev has feelings, and his are probably the most profound I have ever known. You can never interpret what is running through his head, unless he tells it to you. My friends often say that I think too much. If so, Sev's just way overboard.

"Actually, all men aren't beasts. It's just that you can't understand them, no matter how hard you try. I've known Severus for four whole years, and I'm just beginning to know about his life outside of Slytherin. I never knew he had an archenemy. I never even knew that he knew people outside of Slytherin. I never even got a chance to decide whether I hate non-Slytherins or not.

"You know what; I think men should be a species of their own, with their own specific genders. It would make a lot more sense to me. You would have the Severus Snape gender – too profound to understand but very caring yet with a hot temper at the same time – and the Lucius Malfoy gender – too imbecilic to do anything and with a hatred for all Muggleborns, (the only reason he isn't out to get me is because he doesn't know that I'm a damn Mudblood…). And then, you have, oh, then comes the James Potter gender.

"James Potter – if I had never met him I probably would have never known that there was even a world in existence outside Slytherin. His gender would be, let me see. His gender would probably be of those who have a kind heart, yet a mischievous look about them. Oh, I don't know. I can't really judge him, since I've only met him once. I've certainly noticed him in the usual hustle of breakfast and other times when the whole school's in the Great Hall, and most definitely at Quidditch matches, but still, I have nearly nothing to go upon. But there's absolutely no way that he can't be a nice person.

"What wouldn't I give to get to know him better? What wouldn't I give to know anyone outside Slytherin better? It's as though I'm in a prison for people who wish to live life the way it was meant to be. I've been imprisoned in Slytherin for wanting to see the world as it really is, instead of seeing it as the picture that my friends paint for me.

"Ever since my parents died, I've been fed nothing but rules, restrictions, and guidelines. It's as though my whole purpose of living is to hear people tell me what to do over and over again.

"'Don't talk to the neighbors.'

"'Don't go out of the house.'

"'Don't wander around the grounds.'

"'Don't go into the Forbidden Forest.'

"'Don't do this.'

"'Don't do that.'

"It's as if they were telling me 'Don't live.'

"What happened to distinguishing success from failure? What happened to trying and achieving? What happened to making decisions? What happened to the princesses who were rescued by knights in shining armor? What happened to living happily ever after? What happened to life?

"It all went down the drain the day I was sorted into Slytherin. I still remember that fateful day. I had grown up with the Weasleys being told that Slytherin was the worst of the four houses. Here I am now, a member of it.

"But why am I a Slytherin? What darkness did the Sorting Hat find in me that it had to put me in Slytherin? There must have been a mistake. I have been telling myself this for the last four years. Whom am I kidding? I am a Slytherin; I was a Slytherin; and I will be a Slytherin till the day I graduate from Hogwarts.

"But I'm not the only one who thinks I was put in the wrong house. Martha thinks so. Lucius thinks so. Narcy thinks so. _I think so. In fact, the only person who doesn't is Sev. I think he's been getting a really rough time lately. As disconnected as I have been, I do know that there have been a number of… well, 'pranks' that have been played on Sev and Lucius, and some of the other boys here, even Alistair McNair, the prefect. All I knew, however, was that they got a really rough deal, and the pranksters were from among the Gryffindor crowd. Now, however, I know that it isn't just any group of Gryffindors. It's Potter's gang._

"So this brings me back to James Potter. A prankster, a mischief-maker, a romancer, and the kindest heart in the world, all rolled into one – that would be my definition for James Potter. He has shown me, through that short meeting with him, that there really is something outside of my small world. There is something worth seeing, worth living, and worth breathing. I cannot believe that I have spent fourteen years completely in the dark, when I could have been taking part in his world.

"I am foolish. I am talking, or rather writing, as though it is my fault. Well, it most certainly is, but I am making it sound as though James, and all the other Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs are waiting for me to come to my senses and run into their awaiting arms. Jeez, I never was much of a poet. And I'm still not a very good one. But what could have made me think that they want me to be with them? Maybe I'm thinking this because of the look in his eyes when he saw me, and when we were talking. I've never seen a look like that before. What was it? Could it have been acceptance, or was it disgust? Oh, what I would give for it to be the former!"

Here, Lily paused, and pulled her quill away from the paper. She had been writing for a long time now, and her hand was starting to ache. As she brought the quill back down, she wrote with more energy, as she formed the last words on the page.

"I will get my wish. I know it. All I'm waiting for is the right day. James and I, we didn't meet by chance in the library that day. He's the one. I know it. He's the one who will give me what it is I need. And then, I will show everyone what Liliane Evans, the Tiger Lily, the Sorceress of Slytherin, and Slytherin's Queen, I will then show them, what I am made of."

*

A/N: That's the diary or rather, the diary as Lily writes it. I hope you liked it. Either way, I won't know until you review! So click the button on the bottom left corner of the screen to tell me what you think! I think I might have gotten a little carried away; this is nearly three pages long! Well, I sincerely hope you liked it. You'd better, *narrows eyes* or else that would have been such a waste of time! But never mind that, I enjoyed writing it, even if it may have been kind of pointless…


	4. Quidditch Practice

A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry to all of the people who have been reading this story, and who suddenly found that it was gone. I sincerely didn't mean to delete it; on the other hand, there was another story of mine, which wasn't doing so well so I thought I should take it out and modify it and then repost it. But FanFiction.Net deleted the wrong story! So, I re-uploaded the first chapter, but it wouldn't let me add the second and third! And then their hardware crashed so I couldn't even retry to upload the next chapters… So all in all, I'm as pissed as anyone could be at this point… I really like this story, even if you guys don't… But anyway, enough of me talking, let's get to Chapter Four!

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"James, will you please stop staring off into space? You know what's going to happen, but there's nothing you can do about it. Just let it go," Sirius begged his friend.

Ever since James had returned from the library the day he met Liliane Evans, he had been torn between worry and amusement, and his habit of sitting, staring, and thinking had become more pronounced then ever. Usually, there was schoolwork to be done and such, so the other Marauders were able to distract him. But the Christmas Holidays had begun two weeks ago, and their time was completely open to do whatever they wanted to. And strangely, all James wanted to do was sit, stare, and think.

Now, they were in the Common Room, and, being some of the only people there that winter, they were free to lounge around and use up as much furniture as they wished. Sirius was lying on his stomach on the red couch in the corner, reading the newest episode of his favorite comic, _The Adventures of Marvin the Mad Muggle, whereas Peter was using up all the tables for his Divination homework, which he happened to be failing. Remus was poring through __Hogwarts: A History on the floor and James was sitting in the armchair in front of the fire, his hands on his palms and his elbows on his knees, staring into the fire._

"Yeah, I know I can't do anything about it, but I can't help but feel that I still _should do something. Don't you feel like that? As though something terrible is going to happen, and you're totally helpless in the situation?" James answered. Seeing the blank look on his friend's face, he continued, "Well, even if you don't, I most certainly do." Then, as if by sudden inspiration, he asked, "Hey, Sirius, do you by any chance know __all of the Muggle-borns in school, at least by name?"_

"Uh, I know all of 'em in our year, and a few above and below. But that's about it," Sirius answered, a look of suspicion on his face.

"Why do want to know anyway, Prongs?" Remus piped up.

"No real reason, Moony," James answered.

"So what's the fake reason then?" Sirius said, grinning at his usage of words – he was a great one for opposites.

"Will you shut up?" James asked.

"If you say so, I guess," Sirius asked. They all just sat and stared, rather like James, but in this case, it was because no one had anything to say – except for Sirius, that is, but he had been told to shut up.

"Remus, can you help me?" Peter asked in a whiny voice from the table.

"Sure thing, but first, what subject is it?" he asked.

"It's Divination – you know I suck at it. Help me?" he asked.

"I don't take Divination, bird brain," Remus snapped at him.

"Oh, then, Sirius, will you help me?" Peter whined again.

"Sorry, Pete, James needs my help – desperately," Sirius said, glancing at his friend who was sitting stock-still in the armchair. When he heard this, though, James turned around to face his friend.

With his eyebrows raised, he said, "I haven't gone insane – yet. I'm just thinking, that's all – and worrying," he admitted. At this, Sirius sighed softly and shook his head. Nevertheless, James noticed this, and for a while, he was pondering how he was to explain everything to his friends. He had told them only what he had found out – that is, they knew what was going to happen, but not about the Slytherins he had met, or about his acquaintance with Lily.

Liliane Evans – her name meant something more to him now. It was yet another thing that he could not explain. He longed to define it and give it a rigid meaning, but he found himself at a loss. He could merely wonder and not comprehend.

"James, snap out of it! You're dreaming again," Remus said, walking up to where he sat.

"What? Oh, sorry, I can't help it," he said sheepishly.

"Yeah, we can tell…" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"What are you worried about anyway? You don't expect Voldemort to just burst in and kill us all, do you? He wouldn't stand a chance! Haven't you heard? The one person Old Voldie fears more than anyone else is Dumbledore. He's not about to storm the castle while Dumbledore's headmaster," Remus informed. "Come on, cheer up old pal. Just relax."

Remus' words did allow James to breathe a little more easily, but he couldn't keep his mind off of his new Mystery Girl.

"The least you can do is to tell us exactly _why you're so worried," Peter said. He had given up on his homework and had joined Remus on the floor._

"I don't know if I can explain it. It's just too – complex. I don't know _how to interpret all that I'm feeling and thinking. I wish I could, Peter, because if I did, then I'd know what I'm feeling and thinking too. If I don't understand, how am I supposed to explain?" he said softly. He hung his head and ran his hand through his already messy black hair._

"Prongs, you've really gotten yourself into something deep this time. What exactly happened in the library? I have the feeling you're keeping something back," Sirius said.

"I have a feeling this isn't only about Voldemort anymore. Am I right?" Remus asked.

"What's wrong, James?" Peter put in.

James just looked from one to the other. They all knew of the enmity between Snape, Malfoy, and him, and Sirius was in much the same position. They all hated Slytherin as much as he did, too. They all had heard of the fifth-year tomboyish prefect that they called 'Queen', even though they had never seen her. Rumors traveled fast in Hogwarts. So how was he to tell them that he had found out about Voldemort from Liliane Evans? How was he to explain that she wasn't really the devil incarnate like she was depicted? How was he to explain that he might – just might – have slight feelings for her?

_No, that's stupid. You've only just met her. Why would you have feelings for her already? Sure, she's pretty… Okay, forget pretty, she's beautiful. I've never seen anyone like her. She's a Slytherin, damn it. And like all Slytherins, pretty or not, she's bound to have their ordinary prejudice against others and all Muggle-borns… And she's probably going to end up as a Death Eater too – which was probably why she was poring through all those books in the first place. It all fits in, James. Just forget her._

"James, jeez, please stop it! You're driving me nuts!" Sirius screamed into his ear. That made him stop, all right.

"Aah, don't _do that! You freaked me out!" he screeched._

"Well, tell us how to keep you from doing that, and we'll try that next time," Remus said grumpily.

"I'm sorry, Moony. I told you that. I just can't keep my mind off it all."

"Look, the next full moon is some time next week, isn't it?" Sirius said.

"It's the coming Tuesday," Remus corrected.

"Okay, how's about we go Tuesday down to Hogsmeade, grab ourselves a few Butterbeers, and go down to the Shack and sort this whole thing out?" Sirius suggested.

"Uh, how's about we don't?" James said. He didn't feel like spilling the beans so soon.

"Alright, then why not do what I say but just not sort this whole thing out? We could plan a prank on the Snakes again…," he pleaded.

"It sounds good to me. What about you, Pete?" Remus asked the squat boy sprawled on the floor next to him.

"I'm fine with it if all of you guys are. It's not as though I have a choice, is it? If I do then –" Peter began.

"Don't get your hopes up, Pete," Sirius said. Turning to James, he begged," Come on, Jamesie; we need the company. And you need the Butterbeer."

Reluctantly, James agreed. But he made it a point that he was going to take his Cloak and go straight back to their dorm if the topic of Voldemort came up at all during their expedition. His friends agreed to his request, and plans were made as to how they were to go there without attracting the attention of any of the teachers.

"Hang on a sec, we have practice now. Sirius, come on! See you later Pete, Remus!" James shouted as he ran out the room.

"Oh, guess we have to run. I told the Snakes' captain that we should have a scrimmage or something today to practice for next Tuesday's game," Sirius said – he was the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. With that, he ran out of the room after James. Remus and Peter stared at the place where they had just been standing minutes ago.

"About that Divination homework you were talking about…" Remus began.

"I thought you said you didn't take Divination?" Peter asked.

"I just said that so you wouldn't bug me. But I haven't done it either, so let's get started."

"Remus…"

*

"Lily, come on! Owen's calling us for practice!" a seventh year by the name of Victoria Moore called up to Lily as she lay on her bed, feeling thoroughly bored. Victoria and Vanessa Moore were twins, and they were also Narcissa Moore's older sisters. Though Victoria played Quidditch for Slytherin – she was their Seeker – none of the other Moore sisters – there were four in all – played the sport. (The youngest Moore was a second year by the name of Charlotte.)

"Oh, I'm coming, Vicky! Tell Jon that I'm just going to get my broom and gloves and I'll be at the Pitch, okay?" Lily squealed back to her teammate as she bounded off her bed, collected her things, threw open the door to her dorm and ran across the stone floor to the Slytherin Common Room.

Jonathon Owen was the Slytherin Quidditch Captain. Another seventh year, he also happened to be Head Boy. In fact, he was the first Slytherin ever to become one. At the same time, however, he was the most 'patriotic' of his house. If it weren't for his excellent Chaser qualities and hatred for non-Slytherins, Slytherin would never have had a chance at the House or Quidditch Cups. Jack was their 'leading Chaser'. He would score most of their goals. Jon, Lily, and Vicky were Slytherin's Quidditch stars. They worked as a seamless team, and the only house that had ever beaten them since Lily joined their team was Gryffindor. This was mainly due to Lily's inability to block James when he was scoring.

"Hurry up, Lily! Anyone would think you're bringing the Cannons with you to the practice!" Vicky screamed. Just then, Lily ran into the room, and grabbing her teammate by the arm, she ran out of the trapdoor behind the statue that guarded the entrance to their Common Room.

As they reached the Pitch, Lily smiled as she looked into the sky. Seven people, clothed in red, were zooming through the air. She recalled with both sweet and bitter thoughts that Gryffindors played in red. The bitter memories were that the Gryffindors had constantly beaten the Slytherins, and the sweet thoughts were that it was none other than James Potter who played on the red-clad team.

She scanned the field for signs of her team. She couldn't spot them anywhere. But a tug on her arm from Victoria told her that she had sighted them. Following Vicky's line of sight, she saw that they were grouped together on the stands, apparently going over moves or something of the sort. They ran over… Perhaps a more accurate description would be that Vicky was almost dragging Lily over to the rest of the team; Lily was pre-occupied with watching the Gryffindors play.

"Evans, Moore, what took you?" Owen shouted from the center of the circle.

"Lily took forever to get her stuff. And then there's the fact that you called this practice together without informing us…" Victoria explained.

"By joining the team you state that you will attend any Quidditch practice at any time unless you are physically unable to do so," he growled back.

"Oh, take a chill pill, Owen," Lily said coolly – without thinking.

"Excuse me?" he said, shocked. No one ever talked to him like that.

"I said cool off. I understand that you have NEWTs to take and everything, but just chill for a while," she persisted, evidently not realizing her mistake.

"Evans, do you have any idea who we're playing against on Sunday?" he asked her in disbelief.

"Gryffindor, I know," she answered simply.

"Yeah, and in case you haven't yet realized we have never one a game against them ever since you joined the team! We need to practice! Or should I say, _you need to practice?" he said, narrowing her eyes at her._

"Is that a threat to remove me from the team?" she asked just as dangerously, looking him straight in the eye. They stared at one another for a moment, before Jonathon looked away. No one could stare Lily down, and she was determined to keep it that way.

"Lily, listen. Please stay in focus. I understand you've been busy doing some stuff to help out the rest of the house, but Quidditch is something that can help us if we just practice. Look up there," he directed. Lily followed his line of sight, and with a leap of her heart, she saw that he was pointing at James Potter.

"Just watch Potter for a while, Evans."

"I'm watching," she breathed. She had never seen anyone fly like him. It was as though he was a bird, gliding through the air unsupported. He might have been a ghost, floating through the air chasing the Quaffle, trying to steal it away from the other players. To Lily, he was a dream. 

"Okay, now, I called this practice at the last minute because we really need to practice. I understand that the job of defending the goals can also be shared by the Chasers as well, at least until Evans can save some of Potter's scores. Until then, we're all going to have to work hard. Moore, you work on some laps to pick up on your speed. I'll ask Professor Morris if she'll give us some extra money to buy you a better broom. A Silver Arrow should work well enough. I'll let out the Snitch once the reddies are done. Okay, Matthews and Callaway, I reckon you two can practice on some Gryffindors, can't you?" he addressed the team. He always would start their practices with a small talk, followed by instructions to each player – in the order Seeker, Beaters, Chasers, and Keeper – before getting to the main practice.

"Well, hurry up, folks. Okay, Chasers, I talked to the Gryffie Captain – what's his name, Black? I think so… Anyway, I talked to him and he asked for a scrimmage later today. Seven on seven – Chasers, Beaters, Seekers, and Keepers – all of us are playing. First team to a score fifteen times wins. The Snitch is worth five goals, but the game doesn't stop when it's caught. How does that sound?"

There was a positive murmur from the other two chasers. Lily, on the other hand, groaned.

"Yes, Evans, you groaned?" he asked her.

"What happened to practicing?" she said stiffly.

"You will practice. This is the perfect chance. You'll get a chance to face those bloody Gryffindors. Now hurry up and start your workout, all three of you. Come on, hop to it!" he said. The three of them mounted their brooms and kicked off into the air simultaneously. By habit, Lily soared off towards the goalposts.

"Move it!" someone behind her screeched. Lily turned in the direction of the cry, and saw a Gryffindor with black hair carrying a Beaters' club. Putting two and two together, she leaned into her broom, making it dive down at speed. Turning back, she saw a Bludger soar through the air right where she had been flying seconds ago. Turning back around, she saw that she was losing height rapidly. She pulled up as abruptly as she could. Once more, someone called out to her.

"Nice stop there, Evans," a familiar voice said to her. Lily didn't need to turn around to recognize that voice. Nevertheless, she turned around to face James. He was hovering in midair a few feet away from her, a lopsided grin on his face that made him more attractive than she already found him. She smiled back at him, hoping for a conversation. But the Beater who had warned her of the Bludger was calling the Gryffindors together, and James flew away.

_So that's Black, is it? The Gryffindor Captain, Expert Beater, what else is he? It looks like he's James' friend… It was awfully good of him to warn me about that Bludger like that. After all, he is__ a Gryffindor, and all Gryffindors hate Slytherins and vice versa – except for me that is…_

"Lily, what is with you and daydreaming? Owen's calling us over! He says we're scrimmaging or something. Hurry up!" Victoria called Lily, making her snap back to her senses.

"Oh, yeah, he said something like that. Well, let's go, shall we?" Lily said awkwardly. Vicky shot her a quizzical look, but flew with her back to their team all the same.

"Okay, guys, let's go kick some Gryffie asses!" Owen shouted to the team. He beckoned Lily to him.

"Listen, Evans, one wrong move, and I'm warning you, I can kick you off the team faster than Vixen over there can catch the Snitch," he said, gesturing towards Vicky.

"Jeez, get over it! I'm doing all I can out there! Maybe if you actually let us _train rather than just lecturing twenty-four seven maybe I'll get better!" Lily screamed, before taking off._

"What was that all about?" Victoria asked their captain. He just shook his head and motioned to her to get in position.

On the count of three, the game started. The six Chasers weaved in and out, dodging the Bludgers and, in a few cases, the Snitch. Victoria and the Gryffindor Seeker, a third year by the name of Celina Davies, were circling the game fifty feet above the others, like hawks seeking out their prey. Lily patrolled the goals constantly. But while her body was maneuvering her broom, her eyes were focused on something else.

She knew the kind of moves that Chasers normally used. Such moves came naturally to a Chaser. Even the Gryffindors often followed the pattern. The only time they didn't was when Potter was scoring. For this reason, Lily was watching him. It was as though he was independent of everyone. Every time he approached the Quaffle, he did something different. Some times, he would fly right past it. At other times, he would pass it to someone who was at the opposite side of the pitch to get the Slytherin Chasers off of his tail. Lily watched him closely, trying to find some sort of pattern in his movements. Her father had always told her that if she could find a pattern, then solving problems would be a piece of cake. So she watched James play. She watched his movements. She located his weaknesses. She found the things he did habitually rather than through skill and awareness of his surroundings. But while she was doing all this, she pulled off some amazing saves. But the Gryffindor Keeper, Jeremy Willis, was doing the same thing. After half an hour, the score for both teams remained nil.

But up until now, James hadn't even come within five meters of the goalposts. Was it because he felt guilty that she could never save his shots? She had no idea. But after another fifteen minutes of a scoreless tie, it seemed as though James gave up on his pacifism. He soared, he dived, he dodged, and he passed. Surprisingly, while James got more energy, the rest of his team started to tire out. Willis even let a few goals through. Slytherin was leading by nine goals to zero. Finally, James tried to score.

Lily watched him carefully. She watched how he leaned into his broom to acquire speed, and then veered slightly to one side – the left… no, the right – and suddenly stopped as he sent the ball flying. But Lily had been watching him a bit too carefully. She realized at the last moment that while she had been watching him, she had stopped moving. He had scored. Lily cursed mentally. How could she have done that? She had to be more focused.

But after he scored, the Gryffindors seemed to have gained more heart, and Slytherin was back to not getting any more goals. When Lily was just about to catch the Quaffle to make another save, she saw another Bludger being shot at her. She ducked violently, trying to take the Quaffle down with her. But the Bludger was too fast. It knocked the Quaffle away before she could get a firm grip on it. She saw the Bludger knock the Quaffle through the goalpost. Gryffindor had scored again. She sighed, and shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Black do a high-five with James. They caught her looking at them and they smiled at her. Lily looked away.

She was now more focused than she had ever been before in a game. She didn't bother watching the players. She just kept her eyes on the Quaffle. But suddenly, everything stopped. Vicky and Celina were diving downwards. Unfortunately, Celina's broom was a lot faster than Vicky's was. Lily saw Owen smack himself in the head, cursing. Without thinking, she dived down, directing her broom at Celina. Celina saw her, and zoomed away, too scared of getting hit to worry about the Snitch. But Lily couldn't pull up in time, and so Vicky also had to change direction to avoid behind hit. Lily was still losing height. When she was only a foot above the ground, she managed to straighten her broom.

Looking up, she saw that the Chasers were playing again. To her horror, James was zooming towards the goalposts at top speed with the Quaffle held tightly under his arm. Lily had no time to think at all. She leaned into her broom to pick up speed quickly. Her hair was flying out behind her, and her robes were whipping around her feet. She reached the goalposts just as James unleashed the ball. Letting go of her broom completely she reached forward, trying to get a hold of the Quaffle, but it was just too far for her to hold. Instead, she leaned forward, reached out with both hands again, and hit the ball downwards with all her might. This time, she was successful.

Her team cheered. Owen went up to her and slapped her on the back. Vicky went and gave her a hug. Lily smiled – she had finally done it. Looking over to James, she saw that he was grinning too.

"Hey, Evans, you finally did it. Nice one there, I don't think anyone else would have come up that fast," he said, winking at her again. Sirius flew up behind him and gave her a thumbs-up. But Lily didn't notice him. She didn't notice anything except for James and his grin. But the game had to go on, and so Owen finally made her snap back into action by pinching her arm.

"Evans, we have to keep playing! The game isn't over just because he didn't score!" he yelled at her. Lily nod in response, still feeling a little ditzy. James stopped scoring again. But the other two Chasers were scoring as much as they could. They even started to play dirty – just like Owen and the other two Slytherin Chasers normally played. Within fifteen more minutes, each time was tied at thirteen. The four Beaters were going crazy. They waved their clubs around, not caring whether the Bludgers were shot at teammates or opponents. The Seekers were constantly tailing one another and feinting – occasionally diving through the Chasers to scatter them.

In another five minutes, both teams had scored, and the game was getting dirtier. If there had been a referee to call fouls, the game would never end for sure. Once in a while, a Gryffindor got whacked in the head by a Quaffle thrown by an opponent or by a Slytherin's club. The Slytherins were constantly hissed at, and the Bludgers were surrounding them as though they too were making fun of the green clad fliers.

A few minutes later, one of the Beaters shot a Bludger flying towards the Gryffindor Keeper. But for some reason, it changed course and went zooming off towards Lily from behind her. Lily was too focused on the Quaffle to notice that the Bludger was steadily gaining speed as it sped towards her. Sirius Black noticed a few seconds later and tried to warn her – but it was too late. The Bludger hit her hard on the shoulder, knocking her off her broom. Lily felt the pain sear through her arm as she hit the ground. She felt dizzy, and the voices of her teammates were swirling around her. Through the group, she faintly saw someone with a red uniform approach her. Even though she couldn't recognize him, she knew that it was James. Slowly, he lifted his hand and brushed the hair out of her face. She could sense the surprise that her teammates were sensing. But they said nothing. 

"Hang in there, Evans. You'll be okay. Just hold on."

That was all she heard before the world dissolved around her.

*

A/N: I think Author Notes at the end of chapters ruins the story… Tell me if you think so too. If you do, then I'll only put 'em in the beginning. Anyway, please review this chapter! It was a little too much about Lily, I know… I'll try to get more Marauder stuff in the next chapter. But please review all the same!


	5. Lily Snape? No Lily Potter

 A/N: Yay, I got so many reviews! I'm so happy! Yay, I can't believe it! Okay, that's enough exclamation marks! Now that was really stupid. But I'm so happy you guys like my story. Now, before I get too excited, here's Chapter Five.

*

"Lily, are you awake?" Severus asked urgently.

"Huh?" Lily muttered groggily.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" he said, bending over her bed. 

"Sev, it's you! What are you doing in the Girls' Dorm?" Lily asked shocked. Severus looked down at her. She tried to get up but he forced her back down.

"We're not in your dorm, nutcase. We're in the Hospital Wing. At least, you are – and you will be for the rest of the week – and I came to see how you were. Don't you remember anything?" he asked her, less worried about her condition.

"What's there to remember? Oh! The game, it's all coming back… Oh _no, Owen's going to kill me! What day is it, Sev?" Lily said, suddenly sitting bolt upright._

"It's Thursday, but what does that have to do with anything? If you're wondering about the game against Gryffindor, it's been postponed. They were going to play against Ravenclaw but Potter's stupid friend decided not to. Said the team would rather play against us. Don't know why… They probably wanted to avoid playing altogether – stupid bloody gits."

"Yeah, you're right," Lily said, looking down at her knees. She rested her chin on her knees, put her arms around them, and sat staring into space.

"Lils, what're you thinking about?" Severus asked gently, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Oh, nothing really, I'm just recollecting what happened on – when was it – Saturday," she replied. Severus raised an eyebrow at her, but she just smiled back. She hadn't lied to him, unlike he thought. She guessed that he didn't know everything that had happened that day. But she remembered very well.

She recalled everything – the grin, the wink… even the touch on the face. She replayed his voice in her head again and again. He had been genuinely worried about her, hadn't he? And what had her teammates done? They had just stood around her, whispering in shock at seeing him approach her out of the blue. Lily vaguely remembered hearing Vicky go and call the old school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, to help Lily. She also remembered that James had stayed with her even when her teammates had left. After a while, some friends of his had called him to leave. Before leaving, he had moved her hair aside once more – this time his hand brushed against her cheek too.

Unconsciously, Lily moved her hand up to that cheek. Her fingers ran down it till they came to her lips. Lily smiled to herself. There was something about that Gryffindor. There was something about him that made her heartbeat quicken and her mind spin. 

But he was more than just that. He was something more important. James Potter was the one to change her life forever.

*

Lily lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had come back from the Hospital Wing yesterday – a week since the Quidditch practice. She couldn't go to sleep. She hadn't been able to last night either, or the night before that. In fact, she hadn't been able to ever since Thursday – when all sorts of thoughts about a single Gryffindor had rushed through her.

James Potter – to her the name meant everything in the world, and yet it was only two words – James Potter. Ever since waking up in the Hospital Wing, she hadn't been able to sleep, she never felt hungry or thirsty, and she could never even think straight without thinking of him. She was constantly reminded of his soft brown eyes behind thin black frames that made her heart melt, and of his black hair, that was constantly a mess, and of his forever-smiling lips and his playful eyebrows… It had to be a dream. How could there even exist a creature of such beauty and talent?

It wasn't just his looks that she was constantly reminded of. If she had talent on the pitch, it was nothing compared to James. He flew as though there was no broom to speak of. He soared gracefully through the air, like a condor that had no wings. He would simply glide, as though he was doing some sort of ballet of the air. His discretion when diving and scoring was so precise, that she felt that he was more of a supernatural being rather than a human being like she and her friends and everyone else in the school. But more important than that, he was James Potter, the man of her dreams.

By the end of the week, she was ecstatic. Once more, however, her friends were starting to worry. No matter how much she was into studying, she never skipped meals or was in lack of sleep. Now, however, she seemed as though she wasn't even in her right mind. She was constantly humming, smiling, singing, and even though she was extremely malnourished, she seemed to be happier than she had ever been in her entire life. The teachers seemed to be indifferent, but all of her fellow Slytherins were surprised at the sudden change in her behavior. It was as though she had changed overnight. In fact, she had stopped being the tomboy she normally was and had started being nice to everyone. This made Severus extremely mad, even though he was glad that she was happy, because he felt it was letting down the reputation of the Slytherin House.

"Lily, will you please tell me why you're so happy all of a sudden? You haven't eaten in a week, unless you count the candy from Honeydukes when we went last weekend. Please tell me, Lily! You're getting on my nerves," Martha begged her two weeks later.

"I'm not happy. I'm on top of the world!" Lily said, as she did a little spin where she stood.

"Lily, I beg of you, please tell me why you're, uh, 'on top of the world' before I tell Severus something you won't like!" Martha said. This brought Lily to her senses. No matter how much she thought of Severus as her older brother, she was just a teeny bit scared of him. He had a big temper.

"If I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret?" Lily asked her quietly. She knew what Martha's answer would be, but if she didn't ask usually, Martha would rush to Severus immediately.

"What's there to keep a secret about? You aren't pregnant or something, are you?" Martha asked doubtfully.

"Oh, of course I'm not, silly! How could I be? I'm only fifteen, idiot. But will you keep a secret?" Lily asked again, slightly put off that her friend could even think such a thing.

"Oh, alright, I'll keep a secret. But Lily, please don't tell me you're on drugs, or you're doing something you shouldn't be doing, because if you are, Severus is going to kill you. I'll probably kill you too, come to that," Martha said, seriously. But Lily just shook her head. Both Martha and Severus had threatened to kill her many times. It was just the Slytherin nature to be violent. She often did it too.

"Sev won't do anything. He's too sweet. Just tell me one thing. Is it a crime to be in love?" Lily asked with her head cocked to one side.

"You're in love with Severus! Why didn't you tell me? You know he's been fawning over you since second year! You could have told _him too!" Martha squealed, shaking her head at her friend's stupidity._

"Oh, shut up Martha! I'm not in love with Severus! That's disgusting. He's not the kind who someone could really think of that way. He's too, well, he's too brotherly. It's like he and you make up for my parents. But no, I don't care for him like that. But answer my question or I won't tell you the truth," Lily said.

"Well, no, I don't think it's a crime, as long as you're not being a traitor or something like that. Now tell me!" Martha shrieked.

Lily thought for a while. Martha had a tendency to twist one's words when she didn't understand, and at a time like this, Lily didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. She paused before speaking again. "Would you be a traitor if… you were in love with someone outside your house?" Lily asked slowly.

"Lily, are you saying that you're –" Martha began, but stopped when she saw Lily nod slowly.

"Oh, Lily, how – could – you, how could you?" Martha choked.

"You said it wasn't a crime. I just couldn't help it. He was just so nice, and his looks were simply, oh, I don't know. And if you'd seen him fly, you would have fallen for him too. He's just amazing, Martha. You don't get it. You're not a flier. How do I explain it to you? Um, think of it this way. You know the Muggle pastries I got you – the ones with the cream filling inside?" Lily said. Martha was a sucker for food.

"Oh, the ones you called twinkles?" Martha asked.

"They're Twinkies, not twinkles, silly. Well, yeah, I'm talking about those. Well, remember how you felt the first time you bit into the creamy part, how you felt like you were in Paradise?" Lily said. She saw the dreamy look that came into her friends eyes at her words.

"How could I forget? Muggles really deserve a lot more credit then they get. I wish you could get twinkles at Honeydukes. But what do they have to do with anything? And who _is this Mystery Man anyway?"_

Lily ignored the second question, and said, "His smile, and his grin – I got weak at the knees. If Owen hadn't pinched me, I probably would have fallen off my broom then and there. And it's not as though he hates Slytherins or anything. Well, maybe he _does but he seems nice enough. Okay, forget nice – he's the best thing that could ever have happened to me. Really, Martha, I'm serious," Lily said looking her friend straight in the eye. "And it's not as though you're completely innocent either, Miss Summers. Do you remember the Gryffindor you dated in second year? Wasn't his name Black? He's the Gryffie captain, isn't he? Oh, and he's also Potter's friend…" Lily added, but at her last words, she winced._

"_Potter – Lily, you can't be serious! How can you even think of that asshole? Severus hates him; you know that. So does Lucius. Lily, I – I don't know what to say. I expected better of you. Most of the time, it's just a matter of House lines – you know, Snakes keep to themselves, Gryffies stay with other Gryffies, and same with the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws. You know – the whole 'birds of a feather flock together' thing. But in this case – I guess you really can be a traitor to your own kind in such a situation. Lily, please don't do this. You're just going to hurt yourself in the end," Martha said slowly, but forcefully._

Lily looked at her friend. She was literally begging her to change her mind – her eyes glistened with tears that Lily had never seen before. Her eyes searched Lily's face for some sign that Lily had given in. But Martha was too late. Lily had lingered on her dreams too much. There was no going back now, and Lily told her friend so. Martha just shook her head. She was about to speak, but Lily cut her off.

"Martha, if I could make you feel what I feel, I am positive that you would understand. But I have no power to make you do so. But I beg you; please do not repeat any part of this conversation to anyone. Severus will kill me, Owen will say I'm a weakling, Vicky will hate me, Lucius, and Narcy will abandon me – and all the other Snakes will detest me. They'll think I'm not strong enough to be a Slytherin," Lily said.

"What about me? What do you think I'll do?" Martha asked harshly, glaring at Lily.

"Martha, I thought you were – my friend. Aren't you going to help me?" Lily asked, astonished.

"Help you do what – make a fool of yourself? No thanks, I'll pass on that generous offer, Your Highness." Martha got up and made her way to the door of their dorm. Just as she was about to exit, she turned around again.

"Lily, there's just one thing I want to say. You're making a big mistake. Think of what you could have had. Severus isn't all that bad. He loves you – more than any Gryffindor ever could, and more than any living thing ever could. He's done so much for you, and how do you pay him back? You pay him back by getting infatuated with his archenemy." With those words, she left the room, leaving Lily alone. But Lily wasn't just alone in the room – from the moment Martha walked out, Lily was to be alone in the world of Hogwarts as well. That is, until she figured out where her true friendships lay.

*

"Prongs, you're doing it again," Peter called.

"Sorry, Wormtail, but now, I'm not worrying, so you guys can die happy."

"Very funny, James… now do you mind telling us what you _are thinking about?" Sirius asked._

"I think you should know, Padfoot. You were there when it all happened."

"Don't tell me you're thinking about that girl again. I'm telling you, she's a Slytherin just like Snape and all the other brainless gits that he calls friends."

"Look at it this way, Prongs. What are the chances that she's going to like you back? If she hangs out with Snape like Padfoot says she's probably going to hate us as much as he does. Think logically for a change, old fellow. You aren't a prefect for no reason at all. Use your brains while you still have them."

"But Remus, what if she _isn't like that? We're all prejudiced against Slytherins. There are probably an odd few – just a few, mind you – that are like us. They can't __all be brainless gits who'll end up on the Dark Side. No, guys, listen to me. I think – no, I __know – that I'm thinking a lot more logically than you guys are right now._

"Think about it. This whole idea of all Slytherins being bad, and all of them hating Muggleborns, and all this stuff, it's just a big stereotype. Sirius, you dated that girl in second year. Was she all that bad? The only reason you dumped her was because she was a Slytherin. If she had been in any other house, you'd probably have kept her till now. Remus, you're a werewolf. Voldemort wants werewolves over on the Dark Side, because they're considered Dark creatures. But you aren't evil. You're the smartest wizard in Hogwarts that I know. Peter – you've been teased by nearly everyone in school because of your height, but have you ever been teased by a Slytherin _other than Snape or Malfoy?_

"Think about it, guys. I never told you this, but I met her in the library the day I figured out what was going to happen. The truth is, she was searching for something like this too, and she was the one who figured out. I was – well, I was eavesdropping, really. I made a racket by accidentally knocking over one of the shelves, and Lily and her gang saw me. All of 'em were real weird – the girls too – and Snape and Malfoy were really starting to get on my nerves. But she just, like, waves her hand and they shut up. She talks to me, nice like, you know, and it's as though I've known her all my life. She even _recognized me. Would you forget a Slytherin chick who was both pretty and recognized you? And if you'd seen her fly, you wouldn't forget her in a jiffy. Really, if she were a Gryffindor, Padfoot, you'd ask __her to be captain. You saw how she flew on Saturday. Even Ireland can't fly like that._

"Come on, guys. I don't feel like this just for the hell of it. I feel as though it's my fate to fall for her. She needs something like this to get known. She's amazing but no one knows it because she's a Slytherin. I want to do something, but I don't know what. You guys understand, don't you?" James said.

For a moment, Peter, Sirius, and Remus just stared at their friend, allowing his words to sink in. Peter's mouth was wide open, Remus' brow was furrowed, and Sirius started to shake his head.

"Bloody hell, that's pretty deep stuff. But I guess it's got to happen to someone, doesn't it? I'm just glad it isn't me," he said.

"Yeah, Sirius is right – that's – that's intense. But James – think about it. Even if she is all good and everything, what's the possibility that she'll – um – share your feelings?" Remus said.

James frowned. He had prepared himself for their rebuttal – but they had agreed to what he was saying. That wasn't good – if they agreed with him, there was something definitely wrong – with him. He pondered Remus' question for a moment, and then responded.

"I never said I wanted her to feel the same way. That's not what I want at all. I mean, I do want her to _like me at the very least – it would be torture if she didn't – but if she doesn't, I can settle for friendship or something. If she hates me… well, that's her choice, I guess, and I can't do anything about it." James looked at his friends. Peter was scratching his head. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but then shut it again, so James continued._

"Guys, this may sound weird, but I have a feeling that I'm _supposed to like her, as though it's my fate or something. And I __know that she likes me back – maybe not in the same way as I like her, but she does like me. I can feel it – in the way she looks at me, the way she talks, the way she acts – it all fits in. And she __needs me – well, not necessarily me but she needs someone to help her get where she belongs. She isn't a Slytherin at heart at all. She's just – Lily, just Lily."_

"Prongs, you better go and get her soon, or else I'm going to go insane what with all the stuff you're talking about. You've changed a lot in the past few weeks, do you know that?" Sirius said, slapping his friend on the back.

"Oh yeah, one day you were the big Quidditch star – the next minute you're ready to fall at her feet," Remus said, chiming in.

"Shouldn't we go for lunch? I mean, it's three thirty already…" Peter squeaked. His three friends looked at him.

"It isn't three thirty – it's six fifteen. And we _had lunch four hours ago. Peter, are you okay?" James said unsurely._

"I'm fine!" Peter said, getting up suddenly. He ran out of the room quickly. As short and stocky as he was, Peter was pretty fast at running, even if he was a slow thinker. But recently, his friends had noticed a steady change in their friend. He seemed to be getting sick very often, but being his friends, they didn't ask any questions.

"Okay, then… what was that all about?" Remus asked.

"I have no idea. Hey, weren't we going to do some prank or other on the Slytherins? What happened to that?" Sirius said suddenly.

James groaned. "Jeez, Sirius, please change the damn thing. I really don't want to go through with _that…"_

"Hey, maybe we can change it… Now that we've figured out your _real ailments, why don't we incorporate them into the plans?" Sirius said, grinning evilly._

"What exactly do you have in mind, Sirius?" Remus said cautiously. "Isn't having James sneak into the Slytherin dorms bad enough? What else could he possibly do?"

"Well, since he has to go into the boys' dorms _and the girls' dorms, why don't we do something to each?" Sirius said._

"Will you just get to the point, already?" James asked. He hated it when Sirius got strange ideas – they always turned out bad – for James.

"Well, I'm guessing you've heard all the rumors that that bloody git Snape has some sort of passion for Lily, correct? Well, why don't we put the rumor to the test?" Sirius suggested.

"Listen – I'm not doing anything that's getting Lily in trouble," James said dangerously.

"Whoa, okay that rules out Plan A. I was thinking that we could write some sort of a love letter to Snape that suggested – only suggested – that it was from Lily. But I guess that won't work. Do you want to do it the other way around? Only if we do, we _have to put Snape's name on it…"_

"I guess the latter could work, but what about the rest of the plan?" Remus asked.

"We'll still do it. Only we'll use the sixth years instead of the fifth. Oh yeah, James, you asked me some time ago for a list of Muggleborns in fifth year or something like that. There are only four – one in each house. The Gryffindor is Janice – you know that. Then the Ravenclaw is Dan Daley and the Hufflepuff is Horace Wesley." Sirius said slowly – avoiding Slytherin.

"That's three. You said there were four – one in each house… You mean there's a Slytherin too?" James said in surprise.

"That's what I said… and, James, it's her…" Sirius said slowly.

"Her – you don't mean – _Lily?"_

"That's exactly who I mean. It's strange, isn't it?" Sirius said.

"Not at all – I told you she needed me. I know what's going to happen – I told you, didn't I? I guess I didn't…"

"What didn't you tell us?" Remus asked.

"I didn't tell you that – well, Voldemort's after Muggles and Muggleborns more than anything. And Lily's a Muggleborn no matter what anyone says or does. It's probably why her parents were killed. I didn't know they were till that Saturday when I was in the Hospital Wing with her. She was mumbling something about her parents dying and a bunch of awful stuff in her sleep. It was horrible sitting there and listening to her – bloody horrible."

"You know, Prongs, I reckon you have a chance with her. You're probably the only Gryffindor that's ever spent five hours at her bedside when her own friends were elsewhere…"

At Sirius' words, James couldn't help but smile. But he grew serious again quickly.

"Uh, let's get back to the stupid prank, shall we?"

"Right on – uh, where were we?" Sirius asked.

"We decided to forge a letter from Snape to Lily – or should it be a diary entry?" James asked.

"No, we'll stick to the letter," Remus said immediately. "Snape might not have a damn diary. And a letter would be easier to send. We can always slip into Hogsmeade and get an owl from the post office there."

"Yes, teacher," James said, grinning.

"Okay, and James – you're doing the clothes stuff, right?"

"Do I have a choice?" James said dully.

"Let me think… no," Sirius said stiffly.

"So should I plant the letter? I can help out James too," Remus, suggested.

"You're willing to go through a bunch of girls' lingerie to help me out?" James said in surprise.

"Who said we were using lingerie?" Remus said rounding on Sirius.

"Uh, it would make more sense to stuff a couple of bras into some guys' pillowcase rather than a sock, wouldn't it?" Sirius said.

Remus pondered for a while and then said, "That makes it look as though they've like, done it or something."

"That's the point, pea brain!" Sirius yelled.

"Jeez, you don't have to insult me. It's not my problem if I don't have a one-track mind like you do." At these words, Sirius grinned at his friend. Remus had been telling him that he had a one-track mind ever since they had met in first year. Sirius did tend to think of rather vile and perverted things every now and then.

"People, can we get back to the plan? I want to get this bloody stuff over with as soon as possible," James said.

"Okay, let's plan out what to write in the damn letter. Remus, you've got neat handwriting – why don't' you write the letter? You could probably forge any Snakes' writing."

"You should talk. How am I supposed to forge his writing if I've never even seen it before?" Remus said fervently.

"Hang on a sec. I need to get something," James said suddenly. He ran up to their dorm and started rummaging in his trunk. Sirius and Remus were wondering what he was doing when they heard a bang and a cry from James. They ran up to their dorm to see him sitting on the bed massaging his foot with his trunk wide open.

"What the hell happened here?" Sirius asked.

"I was getting something from my trunk, but as I was dragging out from under my bed, I dropped it on my foot. But here – this is what I wanted to show you. Does this help you at all, Remus?" James asked smugly. He was holding out a little piece of paper. Remus snatched it up, giving James a funny look. He looked down at the paper skeptically. But within seconds, his face changed completely.

"Crikey, where the hell did you get this, James? We don't even have to do the bloody prank now! This is all the proof we need!" he shouted.

"What does it say? What does it say?" Sirius asked excitedly. He was jumping up and down in a way that reminded James of a small boy.

"It's a small piece of something like a diary entry… or a letter… And it's definitely been written by Snape since it has the first two letters of his name at the end. And it has Lily's name on it in a number of places, each time with some sort of design around it…"

"Give me the damn thing, already! Bloody hell… you're right, Remy. This is – perfect… we could just plant this… But James, where the hell did you get this?"

"Snape dropped it in the Hospital Wing when he went to visit her. I picked it up when I went last Tuesday, but she had already left," James said, grinning. "But what does any of this letter-writing business have to do with my 'ailments' as you called them?"

"Simple – unless Lily likes Snape in return – which I _highly doubt unless she's a stupid brainless git like he is, no offense – she'll most probably like him a __lot less than she does now. In __that case, you have an added advantage – she'll no longer be as friendly with Snape anymore, which gives you a better chance to get her down," Sirius explained._

"I don't like that idea. I mean, it may not work, and I don't care about that, but I feel as though we're hurting Lily by making her lose a friend so that I can make her like me. I doubt she'd like me any more – most probably less – if she knew that I was behind everything," James pointed out.

"Okay, so then… Jeez, you really like her, don't you?" Sirius said amazed at how persistent James was.

"Bloody hell, Sirius, haven't you gotten anything into your head? Ever since I saw her in the library, I haven't been able to sleep properly…" James exclaimed.

"Oh, Jamesie is in love…" Sirius teased.

"Oh, shut up."

"You are mucho in love, boy."

"I said _shut up."_

"Hey Remus, have you heard the news? Prongsie boy's in love…"

"_Shut the bloody hell up!"_

"Whoa, slow down before you hurt yourself. I was just teasing you a bit, that's all. There's no need to get worked up."

"What do you mean 'no need to get worked up'? I have every reason in the world to get worked up! How the hell am I even supposed to get to talk to her? Wait – Pete, where's Pete?" James said suddenly as he jumped off the bed.

"He ran out a few minutes ago, remember? What's he going to do anyway?" Remus said.

"Peter may not have intelligence equal to yours, but you're forgetting one thing. Who's the biggest snoop in school? I mean besides the Moore sisters."

"Okay, so Peter's a big one for extracting information from people and delivering gossip. How's that going to help?" Sirius asked, leaning against the bedpost.

"He can get me Lily's phone number. Or else he can give me the Slytherin password – I'll need the latter anyway. Otherwise, he can give _her something. But no – I can always send her an owl…"_

"Uh, how is he supposed to get all of those things?" Remus asked skeptically.

"He has a sister in Hufflepuff, doesn't he? Well, the Hufflepuff table is right next to the Slytherin one, so I'm guessing – well, he's really short, and he could always slip under the table… no problem there…"

"James, you're fantasizing about things nearly impossible. What are the chances he's going to agree to doing this? You're forgetting a couple of things too," Sirius put in as he sat down.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Peter happens to be the biggest coward in the entire school. And he _also happens to be the biggest mouth, too. He knows about you and Lily, so if he's caught snooping, he'll probably give the most interesting show and tell the Slytherins have ever seen. And you're going to be toast."_

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. This stinks…" James said, kicking the bedpost. He sat down grumpily on the bed, next to Sirius. Remus sat down next to him silently.

"James, look here. If she really likes you, she won't care how you go up to her and tell her. But telling her is the most important thing. You don't want to keep everything bottled up inside of you, because sooner or later, the cork's going to give way and everything will come gushing out. It's better to keep your mind empty, rather than stuff it with a number of thoughts. I'm not saying you should make a public announcement about it. What I mean is that you should let her know – whether directly or indirectly is up to you. Just don't keep it a secret from _her. If she really likes you, then she'll probably be able to sense it the way you can sense her feelings towards you. Just give it a shot, big guy. It'll all work out in the end, you'll see," Remus said softly._

James had been staring at his feet the whole time, but now he looked up at Remus. James had always looked up to Remus – but he didn't dare to tell him so. Remus was like their 'advisor' or something. He could somehow help them to make the right decisions, all the while making it seem as though he was merely giving them short anecdotes and lectures. But James knew that all the help and advice he had given them had been from his own personal experience. Remus already had a girlfriend – but her family had been murdered by Voldemort just last year and therefore she had asked for a break-up – she said that she didn't want him to be in a position to blame himself if she was killed too. Remus knew a lot about problems that occurred in one's social life.

"Remus – you're a lifesaver, you know that? Where'd you learn all this stuff? Is it all from personal experience or are you just some sort of encyclopedia for this stuff?" James asked in wonder. Remus just grinned at him.

"Okay, now that we've all been enlightened by the all-mighty Advisor for Social Ailments, can we start writing the letter?" Sirius shouted. He could never relate when Remus went all teacher-like. James laughed and tousled Sirius' hair.

"Hey, don't do that!" Sirius yelled, and smacked James' hand away. He crossed his arms and frowned.

"Hey, look! Sirius is doing his monkey face!" Remus said, imitating Sirius.

"Shut it, you. Can we just go back to the prank, please?" Sirius begged.

"Okay, let's go back downstairs. James, are you coming?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, hang on – don't want to leave this behind, do I?" he asked, as he picked up the small piece of paper from the floor.

"Oh, hurry up, will you?" Sirius said impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," James and Remus, said together.

The three walked down the stairs together. Remus and Sirius plopped themselves down in front of the fire, but James lingered by the staircase.

"What's wrong, Prongsie boy? Dreaming about your long lost love?" Sirius asked.

"No, I was just wondering – I don't mean to get you guys all worked up over me. I mean, say she _does like me; it'll still be the four of us, right? I mean, the four Marauders… we'll stay as a group, won't we?" James said._

Sirius gaped at him. Remus shook his head.

"Do you think we'd give up on you that easily? If you abandoned us, we'd hunt you down like a pair of bloodhounds. Stupid bloody git, do you think we'll let you romance away with some chick and forget about us? What do you take us for?" Sirius screamed across the room.

James grinned. He walked over to both his friends and sat down between them. Sirius rested his arm on his friends' shoulder as though he was an armrest.

"Once a Marauder – always a Marauder… isn't that our slogan?" Sirius asked them.

"We have a slogan?" Remus asked.

"Apparently we do now. Don't worry – I was as much in the dark as you were," James said, winking at his werewolf friend.

"Let's make it a deal. Let's –" Sirius began. But a loud noise made him stop. They all got up and turned around. Peter was lying sprawled on the floor, having tripped when walking through the portrait hole.

"Pete, you're just in time. I knew something was missing – the fourth Marauder! Come on, hurry up!" Sirius called to him. The four boys moved into the second room. As if on cue, all four put their hands together.

"What's going on?" Peter asked.

"We're making a pact kind of thing. The four of us are Marauders, and we have to stay that way forever. None of us is to betray, mislead, or blackmail any of our fellow Marauders. Once a Marauder – always a Marauder… and let's keep it that way."

The four shouted it together, not realizing how strange they would have looked if someone was to walk in, four fifteen-year old boys huddled in a circle, their hands together.

"Once a Marauder – always a Marauder… and let it be that way forever!"

*


	6. Pulling Pranks

A/N: Thanks a lot for all the reviews! As you may have noticed, I'm not going to put any notes at the end of the chapters from now on… Thanks for being so patient with me… I thought no one would read my stories anymore since I haven't updated for almost a month or two… But before I bore you guys out of your wits, here's Chapter Six! 

*

"Okay, Prongs, did you get the password?" Remus whispered into James' ear.

"Yeah – I have it right here. You still haven't told me how you got it, though," James whispered back.

"You don't want to know."

"I'll take your word for it," James replied, grinning.

The two boys hurriedly put on James' Invisibility Cloak and crept out of their Common Room. It was midnight, and Remus and James were preparing to carry out the prank on the Slytherins. James was holding – rather reluctantly – the slip of paper he had picked up in the Hospital Wing ready to plant it where it belonged. But what the other three Marauders didn't know was that James had something else ready too. He kept this hidden away safely in his pocket, ready to pull it out when the time was right.

The boys walked down the hallways silently. They reached the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room in a few minutes.

"Okay let's see – what the hell? Remus – look at this, just look at their password. Those bloody idiots, how can they stand something like this, especially when their Tiger Lily is a Muggleborn?" James exclaimed when he read the password off of the piece of paper. He was so loud, that Remus had to nudge him in the ribs to make him shut up.

"Will you just say it already?" Remus whispered harshly.

"Oh, fine I will – Mudblood killers."

The door sprang open and they clambered through quietly. They had entered a stone chamber. The fireplace in the corner had long since gone out, and the only light left were the torch brackets hanging on the walls.

"Okay – so how do we know which dorm is which?" James whispered to his friend.

"Follow me. I have an idea…"

"What are you going to –" James started, but Remus motioned for him to stay quiet.

"Here – look. This hallway is shorter than the other one. That means that the dorms are bigger… And since there are a lot more boys in Slytherin than there are girls… this is the boys' dorm," Remus said, as though this was a common principle which he applied to nearly all situations.

"Remus, you're really something. Now, go on – I'll go to the girls' side."

"I thought you wanted me to go over there?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Uh – I'd prefer it if I went over there…" James said, staring at his feet. Remus grinned at him.

"Oh, really – well then, I guess you'll need this more than me," he answered, handing James the Invisibility Cloak.

"Thanks – I guess."

"Go on with you. Get the – ahem – the stuff ready…"

"Don't worry about me…" James answered, as he turned around and walked down the opposite hallway.

At the end of the hallway, there were seven doors – three on either side and one at the end. On each, there was a number – from one through seven. The one with the number five was right at the end. James quickly checked the Cloak to make sure that he was fully covered, and slowly opened the door.

Inside, Lily shivered. She had felt a sudden breeze come through. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw that the door had opened. But it shut again soon, so she tried to go back to sleep.

James on the other hand, tiptoed up to her bed, and left the note by her bedside table. Slowly and carefully, he pulled out another slip from his pocket. He read what it said quickly.

Sometimes, it's hard to control your energy, and you end up doing things that put other people in an embarrassing situation. What may soon follow is an example. On the other hand, sometimes, you control your emotions so well, that you have no choice but to allow such situations to wash over those who have caused the emotions in the first place. If in any way, you find yourself in trouble due to what follows, I hope you will forgive me.

Ever now and then, your emotions take over your body without you knowing so. They fill your mind with thoughts and feelings, and before you know it, one of those emotions plays so strongly in your mind, that you cannot forget it – nor can you forget the reason for the emotion to have come into play. Perhaps this is why some strange emotion runs through my mind whenever I think of you – for I am always thinking of you. And I am sure that this same emotion is what you feel when you think of me.

James smiled to himself. It sounded right to him. He didn't feel the need to sign his name at the bottom. Supposing he was wrong in his assumptions, he didn't' want her to be sore at him. Carefully, he bent over Lily's bed, looking for a place to put the paper.

Lily couldn't go back to sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, and stretched. As she did so, her hand seemed to brush against something silky. Puzzled, she sat upright in her bed and tried to feel for what she had touched.

James saw that she had awakened, and crept backwards slowly. Not knowing what to do, he dropped the letter on her bedspread – hoping that she would find it before the next day's events – and slipped silently out of the room. Once outside, he backtracked to find the sixth year dorm. He slipped inside there to do his job.

Inside, Lily was holding her head in her hands, trying to fathom why she had thought she had touched something. She slipped out of bed quietly and walked over to the sink against the wall. Slowly, she turned on the faucet and splashed some water on her face. She dried herself with her hand towel and walked back over to her bed. As she was about to pull the covers back over her, her hand brushed against something coarse. This time she was sure that she had felt something strange. Pulling out her wand, she muttered the word "_Lumos" to herself to illuminate her bed. She quickly spotted the folded up piece of paper and picked it up, intrigued by what had been happening so far._

Two beds away, Narcissa woke up. "Lily, dear, what are you _doing? It must be twelve am! Go back to bed, honey."_

Lily wrinkled up her nose. She hated it when Narcy acted all sweet – calling her things like 'dear' and 'ducks' and 'love' and 'honey'.

"Nothing, Narcy – I just woke up all of a sudden and decided to read for a bit to go back to sleep. Don't worry about me – you go ahead and catch up with your own sleep."

Narcissa rolled over and went to sleep – taking Lily's advice. But Lily didn't she pulled the hangings around her bed shut so that the light wouldn't wake anyone else up. She unfolded the piece of paper carefully, and read the curly writing carefully.

_It's from James – I know it is. It has to be from him. But – what on earth does he mean? I – I guess I'll find out tomorrow. But – oh – he feels the same way; he has to. I knew it… I just hope I'm not dreaming… I'll go back to sleep. If I remember this – then it must be true, and not a dream. Oh, but I hope he really does feel the same way… I just wish I had the courage to tell him the truth – that I – oh, that I have feelings for him… I'm not sure whether I'm ready to – to say that I love him, but I know that it all boils down to that simple statement…_

With these thoughts swimming in her mind, she leaned back, undid here illumination charm and went to sleep, the letter from James clutched tightly in her hand. Outside of her dorm, there were more things taking place.

"Did you put them in the right dorm? Remember – we're doing it to the sixth years, not the fifth years. Did you get it right, Moony?" James whispered to his friend as they silently went back to the entrance to the Common Room.

"Crikey – yes, I told you I did it right! Jeez, you're lecturing me more than I lecture you! Just chill, James…"

"Sorry – but, well, you know how much of a perfectionist I am…" James said sarcastically. Remus opened his mouth as if to retaliate, but thought better of it and shut his mouth again. They were about to leave when Remus pulled James back.

"Wait – weren't we supposed to do something else? We had to leave something here… I just can't remember what…" Remus said, scratching his head as he thought.

"Uh – we did? I don't remember anything… Is this something that you and Padfoot decided together?" James asked, but Remus shook his head in response.

"Oh, just forget it. It can't be something important or else you would remember," James said, dragging his friend by the arm. "All I can remember reminding myself to do was to take the little paper and a letter for Lily… I mean – uh – oops…"

James looked sheepishly at Remus, who was grinning down at him.

"Well, well – I guess Sirius was right. He really does know you well, doesn't he?" Remus said, forgetting about having to be quiet and laughing out loud.

"Shut up. I'm guessing he _did tell you to say that stuff about forgetting to do something?" James asked Remus, frowning._

"Yeah – Padfoot's an expert at doing stuff like that. But what did you say in it, anyway?" Remus asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," James said, the color rising in his cheeks. He tried his best to look cool, but his fidgety hands and flushed face gave him away.

"Well – it's your call when it comes to stuff like this. I just hope you didn't give us away."

"What could I possibly give away? Everyone knows that if any pranks are pulled, it's the Marauders' work. The only thing I told her was to forgive us, or rather forgive _me, if she gets affected by this in a bad way. But I didn't mention what we did. That's all I mentioned about the __pranks anyway…" James said, trying to avoid eye contact with Remus as they walked back to their own Common Room._

"I'm guessing there's something more… possibly something more personal?" Remus asked, with his eyebrows raised in an all-knowing way.

"Since you can already read my mind, I'm not going to tell you," James said in a stiff voice. Remus grinned and shook his head. James was the oldest of the four Marauders, but he often acted like the youngest – Peter excluded of course. He was always touchy on the subject of girls, especially since whereas Sirius had weekly flings without having to look for them and Remus had had a girlfriend for even longer than Sirius had, James had never bothered about them, and vice versa.

In another minute, they were in their dorm, telling Sirius how everything had gone. Besides Peter, there was only one other boy in their Gryffindor year, and he always spent Christmas with his family. Therefore, they didn't have to worry about waking people up. Sirius burst out laughing when Remus told him about what James did. James, more annoyed than ever, decided that he'd rather go to sleep than listen to them make fun of him.

"Aw, look, Siri; you've made ickle Jamesie all upset…" Remus teased.

"He's not ickle Jamesie anymore, didn't you know? He's a big boy now. He's already found a chick – and it didn't take him so long, now, did it? Let's see – it only took him _five years…" Sirius said, as both he and Remus grinned at the lump under the covers that was James. They exchanged looks and on the silent count of three, they jumped on James' bed, making him yelp._

"Bloody hell, guys, what was that for? Jeez – you'd think you guys would be more understanding about this whole thing. Do you think I'm enjoying this? Do you think I like having thoughts of Lily pop into my brain all the time?" he nearly yelled. When he saw that neither of his friends had any answers, he continued.

"This isn't happiness – it is nothing short of torture. At least, it is for now. Do you have any idea how much I'm going through, without having anyone do anything? It's as though she's some kind of living ghost that haunts me whenever she feels like it. I can never stop thinking about her – her eyes… Oh god, I love those eyes… They're like oceans of emeralds… The way they sparkle and shimmer – and change color depending on her mood – it's as though they're magical too. And her hair – the way it flies around when she's on a broom – so red, and so soft and shiny-looking it doesn't look like hair at all – more like some sort of synthetic material – it makes me want to touch it, and find out whether it really is hair… And her smile – it's so – how do you find words to even explain such things?" James breathed, his eyes shining with a dreamy expression.

"Whoa – slow down, lover boy – you've lost me there," Sirius said, holding his head with his hands.

James ran his hand through his hair and smiled weakly. "Sorry, Padfoot – I couldn't help it. I guess I got kind of carried away. It's just that – well, I can't get her out of my head. And the fact that she's a Slytherin – it's not like I care but you guys and everyone else… what'll they say? What'll they do? And her – I know she likes me too, but even her reputation is at stake."

"Are you saying you're worried about her, or you?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not really sure… I don't want my friends to abandon me or her friends to abandon her… But at the same time – it's as though I can't live another day without knowing how she feels," James explained, sighing deeply.

"James – it all depends on this. What would you rather have? Would you prefer having popularity among everyone – except the Slytherins of course – or Liliane Evans? Whose attention do you value more – theirs or hers?" Remus asked.

James stared at his feet. He wasn't sure how to answer. He had understood the question fine, but the truth was that he didn't _want to answer._

"I don't know Moony… that's what I've been saying – technically. I don't know what to do."

"Then don't do anything at all, James. Just forget about the whole thing," Sirius said. "I'm not saying forget about _her," he added quickly at the face James was making, "but don't think about popularity or attention or anything. Just do what you have to do. You're the best judge for making your own decisions. You know that. Just one piece of advice – whatever you do, be yourself. That's all I'm saying." Sirius looked at James carefully. He had changed so much in such a short time. Was it all because of Lily, or was the prospect of Voldemort's attack worrying him again? Sirius wasn't sure, and he felt that neither Remus nor even James knew the answer either._

After a while of silence, the three boys parted and went to their own beds. But whereas Sirius and Remus fell asleep soon, James stay awake, staring at the canopy over his bed. Had Lily found the letter? If so, what did she think? Was she mad at him? Did she even know that he had given it to her? James had so many questions – but no answers. He continued thinking and questioning himself for a long time – not being able to go to sleep. He tried to avert his thoughts, but no matter what he did, his mind would automatically think of her again. It was like trying to go down an up escalator – no matter what you do you end up moving upwards. Hours later, after the sky had turned from a deep inky black to a pale grayish pink, James fell asleep.

*


	7. One for All But None for One

A/N: Reviews – I love them! So give me lots, please! At least say that you're happy I'm updating often now that I actually _started updating… But hey – it's not entirely my fault that I haven't been able to access the internet for the last – how long was it, a month or two? But now – my updating schedule should go back to normal. You guys are probably wondering how come I'm not able to go on the net __now even though I was able to during school… Well, let's just say that I'm not a perfect student – and attending a school where you have to have a laptop and a wireless card to access the internet, well, you have my reason for that. And now that I'm back in India, I don't have access from my laptop – I have to go to my grandparents' place… Well, enough about me, here's Chapter Seven._

*

"Wake up, lover boy!" Sirius yelled at James first thing in the morning.

"W – What do you want?" James said, yawning. 

"I want you to shut up!" Sirius said, clutching his head, as he moaned sarcastically.

"Why – what did I do?" James said more awake now that Sirius had started his routine of teasing.

"What did you do? Did you hear that Remy? He spends the whole night jabbering stuff about that girl and he asks us what he's done," Sirius said, pretending to be furious.

"Oh, shut up. I say – what time is it?" James asked.

"Uh – Moony, do you have any idea?" 

"Yeah – it's six forty-three. Do you want to go down now or wait an hour or two?" Remus asked.

"Go down for what?" James asked, looking from one of his friends to the other.

"I'm guessing you've forgotten, right?" Sirius said, rolling his eyes at James.

"What did I forget about?" James asked again.

"You stupid git, what did we do last night?" Remus screeched at him.

"Moony, you're starting to scare me…" James trailed off.

"Bloody git, he wasn't talking about anything like that! You idiot, he's talking about the stuff you did in the Slytherin dorms!" Sirius yelled while giving him a punch on the arm.

"Oh yeah, I forgot… Sorry – but what are we going to go _down to do?" James asked, still slightly out of it._

"We want to be the first ones to see what happened, right? And we have to pass the entrance to their Common Room on the way down to the Great Hall, anyway, right?" Remus said as though he was talking to a five-year-old.

"So what…" James said, raising an eyebrow.

"Grr – you don't get this, do you? If we go early, we might be able to see the Slytherins as they find the stuff. Then, we'll be the first audience they get! _So, we'll know whether our prank worked or not. __Therefore, oh jeez, you get the idea, don't you?" Sirius said, fed up._

"Yeah, yeah, let's go. No wait, one of us can go down to see if anyone's come yet, and if people have, the rest of us can go. But if not, then we'll wait about half-an-hour more."

"It sounds good to me. Who's going to go?" Remus asked.

"You go, Siri – you're a good sneaker," James suggested.

"Okay, that's fine with me. But hang on a sec. What's wrong with all of us going?" Sirius asked.

"It's – it's – a – a waste of our energy?" James asked hopefully.

"Nice try, Prongs, but that's not a good enough reason."

 "Okay, let's all go then. But no – how about we all wait? I don't really feel like going down now…" Remus said, shrugging his shoulders.

"So we spent all that time debating for nothing? And I could have still been asleep?" James whined.

"And he could still be dreaming about Lily?" Sirius mocked, grinning.

"Shut up, Padfoot."

"Hey, it's not my problem that you talk in your sleep. Moony, remind me to buy earplugs next time we're down in Hogsmeade."

"Shut _up, Sirius!" James said, the pitch of his voice rising slowly._

"Uh, Padfoot, you might want to take his advice and shut up before he loses it again…" Remus warned. James was getting close to blowing his top again – and since then Remus and Sirius had decided not to provoke him anymore – but it was too tempting for Sirius.

"_Thank you, Remus – obviously some people know when to shut up. People like Sirius, on the other hand…" James began, but at a look from Sirius that said not to push it, he stopped._

 "Okay – so are we waiting or what?" Remus said, breaking the silence that ensued.

"I guess we are…" Sirius said dully. James, however, didn't say anything.

"What's wrong, Prongsie boy? Cat got your tongue?" Sirius asked him. James just glared in response.

"Okay – I guess not. Crikey, James, you're getting back into the habit of turning temporarily unconscious…"

"I am _not temporarily unconscious, I'm just thinking."_

"Have you ever thought about telling us what you've figured out from your long periods of mental strain during these stressful thinking processes?" Sirius asked stiffly.

"Shut up, Padfoot, please…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I was disturbing the great mind while he was doing his important job of dreaming about some stupid chick. Remus, I'll be in the Common Room when his Highness has finished his tedious work," Sirius said sharply, as he left the dorm.

"Okay – what's wrong with him? Oh shit – I knew something like this would happen…" James groaned as he kicked the bedpost of Remus' bed – making Remus bounce on it involuntarily. "Oops – I didn't mean to make you bounce, Moony – my mistake…"

"Forget it… And don't worry about Siri either. He's probably just annoyed that you're not spending much time doing Marauder stuff anymore – you're too busy with her. Really, once you look at it from our – I mean his point of view it is pretty frustrating. You're always talking about her, and doing stuff based on whether or not she'll mind and stuff like that – it's demoralizing. Seriously –" Remus started.

"Moony, you do realize that you're speaking on your own behalf as well as Sirius', don't you?" James said in a menacing tone.

"What do you mean by that?" Remus said quickly. It was true that James' sudden change in behavior had been rather unnerving, and both Remus and Sirius had come to the conclusion that they had to do something, but Remus had never intended to let James know, or get offended by this plain fact.

"What I mean is that you're indirectly voicing the fact that you're as annoyed as Sirius is…"

"I didn't say that…" Remus trailed off.

"Of course you didn't _say it. But you meant it. Fine – be that way. I don't need you two – I'm fine on my own. It's not as though I don't have __friends. There are eight hundred people in this damn school. One of them is Lily, I'm one of them, and three of them are you, Sirius, and Peter. And well, what do you know? There are seven hundred and ninety-five bloody people left! I don't need you stupid gits! You guys are always mocking me and making fun of me – teasing me all down the line. Well listen up – I'm making my __own way through the school, and it's up to __me whether or not I like Lily or not, or whether I want to think about things or not! So get the hell out of my bloody life!" James screamed at Remus._

Remus blinked. He had never known this side of James before – he had only ever been in touch with the softer, shier side of him. He had known that James was more than that – inside he was a bundle of thoughts and ideas, which he was only too keen to share with the world – but he had never exposed it. He was always eager to take in information rather than thrust his knowledge out.

James _had always been slightly touchy whenever Sirius and Remus teased him, but most of the time James had just waved it off, and kept his feelings inside. But Remus realized that the anger had just been building up the past few years. Now the cork had given way and all the frustration and annoyance was shooting out._

James was slightly outgoing, but never so much as Sirius. When it came to Quidditch, he was decidedly better than his friends were, but it was Sirius' charm and sociability that had made him captain. Sirius and James were prefects, but James was certain that the only reason that he had been selected was to replace Remus. Remus had been told that he would have been appointed if not for the fact that he was a werewolf. Even in the many pranks they played, Sirius was the big boss and James was his sidekick – doing all the dirty work.

But this had just come naturally to the foursome – Peter included. Sirius had always been the one with the creativity and cunning. He planned out all of the pranks, gave each of them their separate instructions, and took every precaution. Remus was their aide in whatever research or spells they needed – except for Transfiguration, of course. That was the one thing in which James could outshine everyone. Besides Transfiguration, they used him for carrying out the pranks, since he knew more about the castle and its passageways than the others did. And Peter – he was a shifter. Once in a while, they would use him to replace either James or Remus if either one of them had something else to do. Sometimes, he wouldn't take part at all in case he messed things up. Often times, he was sick or so overloaded with homework that the others decided that it would be better if stayed behind. But most of the time, he was their messenger. He would wander around the castle, picking up bits of gossip, a password or two, and other information. His keen hearing, ability to sneak around unnoticed, and the fact that he could transform into a small rat helped him to go around the castle and do his duty.

But none of them had ever felt that the jobs were unequal. But now that Remus thought of it, James had always been treated slightly unfairly. Sure, Peter had probably been through worse stuff, but James didn't deserve the unfairness. Okay, so Peter didn't either, except for the fact that his grades were lower than most of the first years', but besides that he was just unimaginably accident-prone… But James didn't deserve to be teased and treated like a child. So what if he was shy with girls and people he didn't know. He was the only one of the four that could ever keep his head when arguing with Snape and Malfoy. If it weren't for his Transfiguration skills, they probably never would have managed to become Animagi. James was their friend, but now, it seemed as though they were going to be cut off forever.

"Listen, James…" Remus began, still standing in the doorway, his back to his friend. He had thought James would tell him to get lost, or to shut up at the very least, but there was no answer. Slowly he turned, expecting to see James sitting on his bed staring determinedly away from him. But instead, he just saw the row of five beds – all of which were empty. James had disappeared.

"I'm sorry, James… I had no idea…" Remus muttered to himself. He backed out of the room slowly. The door slammed and made him jump. Remus was unsure about his next step, and so he ran down the stairs and into the Common Room to tell Sirius.

"Sirius, James is gone – Sirius?" Remus said in surprise. The Common Room was empty too. "Sirius – where _are you? Bloody hell, what's __happening?"_

Too surprised to think, Remus walked over to the couch and sat down heavily. He placed his head in his hands and closed his eyes slowly. He didn't know how long he sat there, but soon, a small tapping noise made his eyes spring open again. He looked over to the window. A small tawny owl was tapping on the window with a note in its beak. Remus walked over and took the letter. It was a torn piece of parchment, and the handwriting looked as though the writer had been in a great hurry to send it off. It was addressed to him – though, not by name…

Werewolf –

I have wanted to have a little chat with you. I do believe that you have noticed your friends missing. Yes – they have been sent to me by one of my… messengers. I am sure you want them to be sent back. Well, that I will do. But sending them back alive – that is another matter. You could be invaluable to my plan, and I have an offer for you that you cannot possibly be too foolish to decline. Agree to my wishes, and they will be sent back still breathing. Disobey my requests – and your band of Marauders will have three less in its party. Do not be rash and try to save them yourself. You cannot find me, nor can you win against me. Send your response to me by this owl immediately – if you ever want to see your little friends again.

"Oh no – no, not – not _him – no, it can't be – it's impossible. Oh jeez, this is my fault entirely. Hell – what have I __done?"_

*


	8. Remus Makes a Decision

A/N: Hey y'all – and thanks for the reviews. Grr… these things are getting so boring now, I'm thinking of omitting them altogether – I'm probably just trying all of you guys' patience with these author notes anyway, so I'll stop including them unless there's something I just _have to tell you guys, okay? Here's the next chapter for all of you who reviewed (though if you didn't, you can still read it…)!_

*

Remus was pacing up and down their dorm. He was unsure as to whether he should inform Dumbledore as to the kidnappings or not. If he did, it was very likely that Voldemort would be informed and James and Sirius, and maybe even Peter, might be in even more danger than they already were. He didn't want to risk that.

But if he didn't tell, what was he to do? He was only a fifth-year, unlike James and Sirius, he had never indulged in sports or outdoor activities, and none of them had ever had experience in the art of dueling. He had no strength whatsoever, being only strong in mind rather than in body. If you needed translations for the oldest of Ancient Runes, Remus was your first choice. As for acts of heroism, you ended up with the wrong number. So, as you can see, he was stumped.

Everything had just happened so fast – the whole Lily affair, their prank last night, then the morning's argument, and now the kidnapping. Remus was at a loss of what to do. Even if he were to meet Voldemort in the forest, what would he do there? For all he knew, Voldemort might kill him on the spot. No, there had to be some way out of going to the forest. Remus racked his brains for some idea or other, but none came.

"Oh drat – how could Voldemort have taken them away right under my nose? Even Peter's gone – Peter!"

Remus had been suddenly struck with an incredible notion. Sirius and James had been nearby when they had been kidnapped, but Peter – he hadn't been around at all. _In fact, the last time I've seen him at all was when we did that stupid pact thing, and then again last night… but he wasn't there in the morning. Could Voldemort have kidnapped him already? But how did he even get inside the castle?_

Remus thoughts were swirling inside his mind. Peter had been missing for ages, but his disappearance hadn't been noticed until now. James had disappeared while Remus' back was turned, and Sirius had gone while James and Remus were still talking. Things were getting more and more confusing by the minute.

_Okay, supposing they weren't__ kidnapped – James could have gotten his Cloak and snuck off somewhere, whereas Sirius might've gotten sick and tired of waiting for me and gone down finally for breakfast. But what about Peter – what did he do? Where are Sirius and James now? Who sent that letter? Maybe it was Snape – he could have been trying to get us back for the prank… But how would he find out so soon? And where's the rest of the House? What the hell is going on in this damn school?_

*

"Rise and shine, ducks – it's time to get up," called Narcissa's chirpy voice as she pulled back the hangings around Lily's bed. "Up, Tiger Lily – you're gonna have to wake _up!" She started to poke Lily in the sides._

"Ouch – Narcy, did you really have to poke me? Jeez, that hurt. Can't you find another way to wake me up?" Lily exclaimed, rubbing her side where Narcissa had poked her.

"Sorry, but it just happened to be _nine fifteen and I figured you might want to wake up before you miss another class."_

"What – I missed a class!" Lily shrieked.

To her surprise, Narcissa started laughing. "Oh dear, Lily, I knew you'd fall for that! Oh, Liliane, you're so daft – today's Saturday. We don't have any classes. I just said that so you'd really be awake."

"Ha – very funny, Narcy – now will you please _go? I don't fancy having someone laugh at me the whole morning."_

"Well, well, well – you're in a feisty mood, aren't you, Miss Evans?" Narcissa refuted.

"Yes, I am. And you're not making it any better."

"Fine then – I'll go. But just one question first, okay?"

"Alright, what is it?" Lily asked, giving in.

"Do you have any idea what's happened to Martha? Her temper is up for some reason – I know it usually _is, but this time she's flaring at everyone, even Severus. She won't say a word to anyone, and if anyone asks her what's wrong, she tells us to get lost. I was wondering if you knew anything. You two had a long talk yesterday…" Narcissa trailed._

"You weren't listening, were you?" Lily asked suddenly.

"Of course, I wasn't, Liliane! Are you accusing me of eavesdropping?"

"No, I wasn't accusing you. I was merely asking if you were."

"Well, like I said, I wasn't eavesdropping. I just saw that you two were talking for a long time and that Martha stormed out rather upset…"

"So, you think I did something?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"Oh, no – I wasn't accusing _you of making that old girl angry, I was merely implying that –"_

"Let me tell you something, Narcy. Whatever we talked about, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. If you sincerely want to know, go ask Martha. I'm sure she'd love to tell you," Lily said dangerously.

Narcissa was shocked at her sudden change of temperament, and decided that it would be better if they ended their conversation then and there. Surely, Lucius would prove to be a better listener.

"Oh, yes – well, maybe I'd better go now," Narcissa, said slowly as she backed out of their dorm.

Lily let out a long sigh. She hadn't expected Martha to be so mad that she'd round on everyone in the House. She leaned back and covered her eyes with her hand. Her head was pounding, and she decided to take some of the pills Madam Pomfrey had given her. She had been having headaches often, usually accompanied by bad dreams, but last night she hadn't even gotten to sleep until two in the morning. She reached out for the glass of water that was usually sitting on her bedside table, but in her haste, she knocked it over, and the water spilled all over the table.

"Oh drat – now look what I've done." Lily righted the overturned glass, and was about to pick up the pills when she spotted something else. She picked up the paper James had left there last night and looked at it.

"What the hell _is this?" she exclaimed when she realized that it was an excerpt of a letter written in Snape's handwriting._

"Why did Snape leave this here? And how on earth did he even get it here? Oh and why does it have my name _all over it?"_

In a flash, all the incidents of what had happened during the night came back to her. She remembered the letter James had left. She remembered how she had heard someone enter and had felt someone standing by her bed. But did all that really happen? How was she supposed to know that it all hadn't been a dream?

Slowly, Lily reached under the covers and felt around. With a burst of happiness and nervous anticipation, she pulled out the crumpled letter. She read it again, realizing that what was written in Snape's handwriting was what was supposedly going to embarrass her. She smiled suddenly, realizing that she could easily outwit James and his group of friends. She picked up Snape's letter, and reached for her wand. She silently muttered the word,"_Miniturus" and watched the paper shrink until it was smaller than her thumbnail. Happy to see that she had prevented anything bad from happening, she flicked the tiny scrap away, stuffed the letter from James into the pocket of her pajamas, and got ready for breakfast._

*

Remus walked down the marble staircase to the Great Hall. He had decided that he might as well reply affirmative to the letter he had received, and decide what to do later. He had until midnight after all. To his surprise, he saw that Peter was already sitting at the table, eating away.

"Peter!" Remus yelled gratefully as he ran down to meet him. A number of other Gryffindors eyed him as though he was nuts, but Remus ignored them.

"Peter – where've you been? Look, we really need to talk. I mean, right _now. James and – uh, I'll tell you later, okay? I'm just – really hungry, that's all…" Remus lied. In truth, he didn't want anyone else to know about the disappearances. The last thing Remus wanted to do was set everyone's tongues wagging._

"I haven't gone anywhere. I just came down really early for breakfast, but I turned up too early – two hours to be precise – and decided to take a walk around the grounds until it was time. I went up to the Owlery too. It's really cool up there in the morning. You should go up there some time," he said coolly.

"You went to the Owlery? About what time was that?" Remus asked.

"I don't know. I don't have a watch anymore, don't you remember? James took it to practice his Summoning and Banishing Charms last year but he ended up making it turn into a feather, and so he said that he'd practice Levitation instead. And my mum wouldn't let me buy a new feather, I mean a new watch."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Peter, was anyone else in the Owlery, by any chance?" Remus asked again.

"N – No, no one was there except for m – me. W – Why do you ask?" Peter asked, turning slightly pink.

"I'll explain later."

Remus had a strange notion that Peter wasn't being entirely truthful, but he had no way to force the truth out of him – at least not yet. He sighed heavily and looked around. By chance, his eyes fell on the Slytherin table. His eyes scanned each of the occupants until he found someone whom he thought was most likely to be Liliane Evans.

_So – that's James' dream girl. Not a bad choice – she's got an unusual combination – red hair and green eyes. Well, James always was one for uncommon things, and a Slytherin with Quidditch talent, looks, and a temper is probably something rare enough for him. I wonder if she found the paper yet – it doesn't seem like it. But it does seem as though something's bugging her. Maybe I should talk to her – I might be able to find something out – like if the Slytherin's have anything to do with this disappearance. It's most likely that Voldemort's messenger is one of them._

Over at her table, Lily was being hounded by everyone.

"Come on, Lily. It never hurts to eat just a little."

"Have some juice at the very least."

"Really guys, I'm fine. I'm not hungry. I _don't want to eat."_

"Don't tell me Little Miss Lily's fasting? Why's that? Trying to get a better figure?" Martha sneered.

"Shut your mouth!" Lily snapped. Fortunately, Martha complied, but the frown was not wiped off her face.

"Lily – please eat _something."_

"Sev – don't force me. If I don't want to eat, I don't have to," Lily said – but in a softer tone. She got up hurriedly and began to walk out.

Remus did some quick thinking. He didn't know exactly what James had written in his note to Lily, but if he managed to catch up with her he might be able to find out. Not that he cared – he just wanted to know if he might have written anything that could give a clue as to his whereabouts. He timed his exit so that it would appear as though he was leaving the Hall because he was done – and not because he wanted to speak to Lily.

Whispering a quick, "See you later," to Peter, he jumped up and walked casually over to the marble staircase. At the top, he hesitated – not knowing which direction Lily would go. She may go left to her Common Room, or she may go right so she could get to the Quidditch Pitch. He decided to go in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room – to the right – since he could always take a secret passage to the other side if needed. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Lily run up the stairs. Fortunately, as he didn't want to be noticed, she went up the other way – to her Common Room.

Remus sprinted down till the end of the hallway. The wall at the end had a large bay window, draped with maroon curtains. He quickly grabbed at one of them and tugged with all his might. Finally, he heard a click and a trapdoor appeared under his feet. He fell down a little ways and landed on a heap of cushions. The Marauders had found this trapdoor last year – quite by accident – and James and Sirius had transfigured a number of odd items into cushions to keep at the bottom. Getting up hurriedly and brushed his robes and ran down the hallway until a small staircase appeared. Remus took the stairs two at a time until his head hit something hard.

"Ouch – oh, I'm here already."

He pushed upwards slowly – massaging his head where it was still sore – and a small part of the ceiling above him gave way. Peeking through the trap door, he saw that no one was around, and heaved himself up through the hole. Dropping the door back down, he dusted off his robes once more and slipped along the hall silently. The path along which he was walking cut off the long corridor that led to the Slytherin Common Room. Going into a run, (A/N: I feel as though I'm talking about a horse.) he slid into the middle of the corridor. He saw Lily at the far end, and jogged up to her.

"I – need – to talk to you," he said, slightly out of breath.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking at Remus as though he was out of his mind.

"You probably don't know me – I'm Remus Lupin," he said, holding his hand out to her, feeling slightly out of place. "Uh, I'm James Potter's friend…"

"Oh – I see. Um – what's really there to talk about? I mean, what do you want from me?"

"Uh – not here – follow me. Sirius might not like me to show you – but there's no where else to talk…" Remus muttered to her.

"Sirius _Black – you mean your Quidditch captain?" Lily asked._

"Yeah – that's him."

"So the three of you are the 'Marauders', huh?" she asked again.

"Yeah – no, there's Peter too – Peter Pettigrew."

"Peter _who?" she squealed._

"What – do you know him by any chance?" Remus asked her, turning around, to look at her.

"Well – no – I mean, yes – but not really…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"It looks like we have a lot more to talk about than I thought. But one question – Peter's a Gryffindor?"

"Yeah – though I don't blame you for asking. He's probably one of the most cowardly gits this school has. But he's got good points too."

"Yeah, I guess."

The two were quiet for a while, walking along silently. Within another minute or two, Remus and Lily had come up to a suit of white armor. Unlike most of the other suits of armor, this one wasn't bewitched like the others to move and talk. Remus told Lily this.

"It's a good thing, too. Otherwise he probably would never let us in."

"Let you in wh –" Lily began, but she was hushed up by Remus immediately.

He started to work around the knight's feet. Lily watched in amazement as he slid the knight's toe slightly out of place and slipped his hand down the hole that had appeared. She heard something spring into place and almost immediately, a small hole appeared behind it.

"Come on," Remus hissed to Lily. To her surprise, he slipped through the knight's legs and disappeared.

"Hey – where'd you go?"

"There's a hole back here. Now hurry up and don't let anyone see you."

Lily bent down and looked through the gap.

"Whoa – I have _got to tell Sev about this – this is amazing."_

"You'll do no such thing! Now hurry up!"

"Oh, alright – I'm coming." She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. Worried that someone might find her crouching under a suit of armor, she slipped through as fast as she could – accidentally knocking Remus over with her force.

"Oh – I'm sorry – I didn't mean to."

As Remus took her extended hand and got up, he said, "You know, you aren't really all that mean and all. I kind of see what James was getting at after all."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, as she sat down on one of the stools in the dimly lit room. 

"He's spent the last couple of weeks trying to convince me and Sirius that you aren't a Slytherin at heart – no matter how much you hang out with gits like Snape and Malfoy." Remus sat down across from her.

"Severus and Lucius are _not as bad as you make them out to be! Okay, maybe Malfoy is a little strange sometimes, but Sev definitely isn't. All right – I admit that he has a bit of a temper and he's always had this slight – well – hatred for those outside Slytherin, but that's as far as it goes."_

"You're standing up for him quite a bit. Maybe James was wrong about you liking him back…"

"What do you mean by me liking him _back?"_

"It means exactly what it sounds like," Remus replied, realizing he had spilled the beans.

"You mean –", Lily began, her eyes widening.

"Let's not go into details."

To that, Lily couldn't help laughing. "Okay – I won't bore the pants off of you."

"Now – can we get to the point? James gave you a letter last night – correct?"

"So it was his? I knew it – well, yeah – he did."

"Okay – and did it say anything about him going anywhere or anything? He didn't say anything personal, did he?"

"No – he didn't say anything, besides the fact that he was sorry if the whole prank with Sev's letter on my bedside that's all."

"So you found that too, huh?"

"Yeah – and I threw it away."

"What!" Remus said, jumping up.

Lily laughed again. "Yeah – I thought it would be interesting to see if I could foil the plans of the famous Marauders."

"Right – but you're sure James' letter didn't say anything?"

"No – why do you want to know, anyway?"

"Here – look at this," Remus said, handing her the letter he had gotten from Voldemort. "Wait a sec!" he said, as soon as she grabbed it – but it was too late.

"_Werewolf – what do you mean by that?"_

"Uh – it's from You-Know-Who – and well, he wants me to join the Dark Side because I'm –"

"You're a werewolf," finished Lily. "Does James know?"

"They've known since third year. They've been becoming Animagi illegally the past two years just because of it."

"Wow – you guys aren't as harmless as I thought. I barely knew anything of what happened in school, except for the fact that there were some Gryffies that kept messing things up for Sev and Lucius and others. Later, I found out that it was Potter and his friends – James, you, Sirius, and Peter. And now you're telling me that pulling pranks isn't all you do. You find a bunch of secret passages and rooms all over the castle and you make illegal potions too?"

"You're making it sound as though we're criminals," Remus said, grinning.

"Technically, you four _are since you're breaking the Wizarding Law. But don't worry – your secrets are safe with me – unless Sev makes one of his truth potions…"_

"Snape's one for potions, is he? Well, the subject certainly suits him. Dungeons are just where he belongs… or not," Remus added when he saw the look on Lily's face. "But read the letter – fast."

Lily zipped through the letter. When she had reached the end, she was in such a state of shock that she couldn't even answer Remus when he asked her if she was through. She tried to read it again, to see if she had read it correctly, but the words blurred before her and everything started to spin.

"Lily, are you okay?"

"I – I'm fine. Just – do you have some water or something?" she asked, steadying herself against the wall.

"No – but we have Butterbeer. Want some?"

"Sure – anything will do," she said softly, her mind still spinning.

"Here – don't ask how I got it," Remus ordered, thrusting a bottle into her hand.

"How did you get it?" Lily asked after taking several sips, grinning widely.

"I'll show you another time."

"Okay – back to this letter – are you absolutely sure that it's from Voldemort? Someone could be trying to get you back for some of your pranks, you know."

"Yeah, I thought of that too. The funny thing is – Sirius and James really have disappeared."

Lily raised an eyebrow at him. Surely, he was joking. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"I do. But what I don't understand is that the letter says that all _three of them are gone, but Peter's still here. He was there at breakfast this morning, and the only reason he wasn't in bed at six in the morning was because he had woken up before then and taken a walk around the grounds. It's rather strange actually – he says he thought it was time for breakfast, but obviously, it wasn't, so he decided to take a walk. But Peter's never been the type who walks for pleasure. He said he went to the Owlery too, but no one else was there."_

"Really – well – that's – uh – I don't know. You wouldn't expect it."

"You seem as though you know something. Are you keeping something back?"

"No – well – maybe I am – but it can't be important, can it?"

"Spit it out."

"Well, about Peter… I was surprised to hear that he was a Gryffie, since, well, he…"

"Just say it. James and Sirius' lives are on the line here."

Lily took a deep breath and said in a rush, "Sev tells him a lot of stuff about Voldemort and about his plans and things like that."

"What – Peter and Snape – talking – together – about Voldemort?"

"Yes, and they, well Severus at least, he wants to be a Death Eater. And Peter – well, he always seems rather clueless, but I think Sev's making him help You-Know-Who too."

"Peter – I thought he'd be too imbecilic to do anything like that."

"He is – no offense – but I think with Sev's help he's able to do a lot, especially since no one would suspect someone like him of anything."

"Of course – no one would suspect him… the little devil…"

"It's not entirely his fault. Lucius is in it too – more than the others are in fact. Lucius is the one who interacts with Voldemort the most. Sev's job is to make sure that Peter gets his instructions right and to make sure that he does his job."

"So Malfoy has the upper hand here, huh? And Snape's like the supervisor. And Peter has to do all the dirty work. You knew this but kept quiet all along? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Who would I have told – Professor McGowan? Even if I did tell him, he'd probably just tell me to get stuffed and to mind my own business. He's as affiliated with You-Know-Who as Lucius, Sev, and Peter are." Lily said. Professor McGowan was the Potions professor, and was also the Head of Slytherin House.

"So a teacher and three students are one the Dark Side. Who else knows – your two girlfriends?"

"Do you mean Martha and Narcissa? They know about Lucius but not the other three. The whole House knows about Lucius."

"And no one's said a bloody word? Then why are _you telling me this?"_

"I'm telling you because you asked me too. And because – I don't know why – but in a way, well, I guess I trust you for some reason. I don't know if it's because Voldemort's asking you to join him and you're actually refusing him, or if it's just because you're James' friend, and his life's at stake," she said smiling.

"I'm honored," Remus said sarcastically. "Do you plan on telling anyone else, now?"

"I could. It would always make it harder for McGowan to modify everyone's memories."

"What do you mean?" asked Remus. He was getting slightly annoyed with the fact that Lily spoke in a way that made him feel as though he was behind the times. She would say half of what she meant, and assume that he understood the other half too. 

"That's what he's going to do if he finds out that I've told you all of this. He'll wipe your memory and mine too, so that I won't tattle to anyone."

"This is great – just great. And I've got just fifteen hours left."

"Fifteen hours, left – well, supposing we tell Dumbledore…"

"Voldemort's bound to find out."

"I know but Dumbledore's bound to find away around Voldemort's finding out."

"What could we possibly do? I suppose we could use a Time-Turner, but those are illegal, and I'm guessing Little Miss Liliane Evans doesn't want to break the law…"

"Try me. But no – you're right. We can't use a Time-Turner, though it would be really helpful…"

"Maybe Dumbledore has one. It's possible, you know."

"I suppose so. But we can't go and ask him now."

"Why can't we?"

"Do you have any idea what people are going to say if we go up to Dumbledore's office _together?"_

"You've got a point there. People will think you're ditching your House. And people will think I've gone nuts. So should I go, then? No wait, aren't you a prefect?"

"Aren't you a prefect?"

"No, I can't be because I'm a werewolf – or else I would've been one. But are you?"

"Yes – though I don't do much because I'm a Slytherin."

"So can't you get in to Dumbledore's office? I mean, you have his password, don't you?"

"Yeah – but I've never been up there in my life. You go. I'll tell you the password."

"Okay, so what is it?"

"Fizzing Whizbees – and it's the third gargoyle from the far end of the long corridor on the left side of the marble staircase."

"I know where it is and all; I just didn't know his password."

"Personally, I think the headmaster has a good taste in candy," Lily said, grinning.

"Whatever – you probably wouldn't if you took Care of Magical Creatures."

"Really – why wouldn't I?" Lily inquired.

"They use the stingers of some magical insect or other in them. That's why, Miss Evans."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Check the book and you'll see that I'm not."

"That's the last time I eat them then," she said, pulling out a couple from her pocket and chucking them into the fire at the far side of the room.

"Should I go now, then?"

"I guess you could, but I don't know how to get out of here. It would look just as weird if both of us came out from the same place."

"Oh, don't worry about that. The Marauders aren't idiots, you know. We've improved this little place quite a bit," Remus said, sounding rather as though he was a real estate agent trying to rent out the room to her.

"So how _do I get out?"_

"Come over here, and put your hand right there – no – there," Remus said, pointing to a couple of stones on the wall.

"Now, take your wand out – you _do have it, don't you? Good – now, tap the brick three times – kind of like Diagon Alley, this – and drag your wand down the gap until it gets kind of stuck. Have you got it? Okay then, whisper where you want to go. And you're there."_

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It's up to you. It all depends on how gullible you are."

"Remus Lupin, are you trying to make an ass out of me?" Lily asked him, glaring.

"Not exactly…"

"Will you _please tell me how to get out of this place? I don't fancy being shut up here for the rest of my life."_

"You don't? That's a pity. Okay, so you really want to get out of here?"

"Yes, I do!"

"Okay, follow me." Remus walked over to the opposite side of the room.

"Another trapdoor, is it?" Lily asked, interested.

"Sort of - now watch and learn." Remus ran his hand over the wall until he found a small groove. He dug his fingernails in and wrenched open – a door."

"It's not a _trapdoor. It's a normal door."_

"That's what I said."

"Not quite – but never mind. So where do we go from here?"

"Wherever you want – you're back outside."

"What – jeez, you're right. This is weird… But thanks anyway. And remember the password. Just another question – how come no one else can see this door?"

"Take a good look, and anyone can find it. It's just that it's hidden behind a painting of a knight kneeling before a princess."

"It is?" Lily asked, looking around at the other side.

"Good evening – 'tis not often I see a lady coming through this door," called the voice of the knight. The princess waved a handkerchief at her.

"Lancelot's shield…" she muttered.

"Aye – so you know my name, is it?"

"Uh – yeah, I guess. Um – I have to go…"

"Farewell, then, my Lady, until next time."

Lily turned around and ran to her dorm, and didn't look back once. Remus shut the door, chuckling, and went back into the room. He opened the trapdoor behind the suit of armor again and, remembering to take his letter with him, went out slowly to take the letter with him in his pocket. He walked along the corridor, the conversation with Lily running through his mind. It certainly looked as though James and Sirius had a chance, now.

Even though his mind was plagued with bitter thoughts, he couldn't help but smile. James had been right about Lily – she wasn't like others. He didn't suppose he could have a crush on her, but she was different. _She's unique – just like James. And James was right – in a way. She needs him to get known. But right now, it's the other way around. He needs her if he's going to have another chance to live._

*


	9. Seeking Help

A/N: Hey and thanks for reading – whoever found me here! I'm sorry I didn't make it clear that I had put this story over here – at this name. But if you found me, good for you – you must be smarter than everyone else. Anyway, Chapter – what is it, nine? – is here!

*

"Mr. Lupin, what brings you here at this precise moment?" Professor Dumbledore asked, sitting calmly at his desk, hands folded, and his sapphire eyes twinkling.

Remus was panting as he had been running down the halls and up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

"James – Sirius – he – Voldemort – Lily said that –"

"Calm down, young man. What has happened?" Dumbledore said, standing up now.

Remus took a deep breath and started to tell him everything. He started with James' premonition, his sudden feelings for Lily, the Quidditch practice, and then the morning's argument. He went on to the disappearances and his chat with Lily. He was careful to leave out their prank and the fact that they had talked in one of the rooms the Marauders had discovered. When he had finished, he pulled out the letter from his pocket and handed it over to Professor Dumbledore.

"This is the letter I got from – from him," Remus said, reaching out with the letter in hand.

"Interesting…" he said, taking it from Remus' hands. He read it over quickly and handed it back. "Well, Mr. Lupin, what is your next plan of action?" Dumbledore asked.

Remus stood stunned. "Well, I was hoping you could tell me," he said slowly.

"You _do realize that neither you nor I have any idea as to what Voldemort's plans may be. We can only guess."_

"I thought – I thought you would be able to help – help get them back – alive," Remus said, gaping.

"I'm afraid that it is up to you to decide what to do. I can always ad vise you, but whether or not you take my advice is another matter entirely," Dumbledore said, sighing.

"Thanks," Remus said stiffly.

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever come up with the wild idea of asking you for help again," Remus said, a hint of rage in his voice. He turned on his heel and walked out.

Dumbledore waited a few minutes and walked out of the room. He picked up his wand and muttered a small spell. In a couple of seconds, his entire body had changed. He was no longer Albus Dumbledore – he was now Peter Pettigrew.

*

"Lily – we've got a problem," Remus said to her, twenty minutes later. He had waited patiently near the secret entrance near the Slytherin Common Room, waiting for her to come out or go in. He knew that she had to at some point of time. When she did, he waited carefully to see if she was alone, and then, when he was sure that she was, he stopped to her.

"Should we go back to the room?" she asked quickly.

"No, there's no time for that. Dumbledore doesn't want to help. I have no clue _what we're going to do. What do you say?"_

"Well, the only thing I can say is that – well, there's only one thing you _can do," Lily said, shrugging._

"And what's that?" Remus asked slowly, not quite sure if he really wanted to know. Lily had a strange way of making him feel really uncomfortable. She was a Slytherin, after all – and not without reason.

"Well, you don't really have to, you know. It depends on what you really want to have _happen," she said slowly._

"What is it?" Remus asked impatiently.

"Well, either you let You-Know-Who kill them, or you go. Go to the forest and meet him. I could go with you if you want. I can watch what's happening and if anything goes wrong – well, I can take a couple of brooms with me, and I'm not all that bad at hexes. I'm good enough at Charms," Lily said quickly and softly. Someone was coming.

Remus thought for a moment, and then said, "Okay, I guess you're right. We don't have any other choice. I just wish I knew why Dumbledore was acting so shitty back there."

Remus sighed, and almost immediately, footsteps could be heard more loudly and clearly than before. Quickly, Remus backed up into the secret entrance once more and waited for the Slytherins to pass. Luckily, Lily's 'friends' were not members of the group. After they were gone, Remus beckoned to Lily, who followed him through the trapdoor.

They walked through a series of secret passageways and trapdoors, until they finally reached the hideout. As they entered again, Lily paused, slightly wary of her surroundings. She was about to say something to Remus, who was pulling out the letter again, but she wasn't quick enough. Something unexpected happened.

The portrait hole opened.

*

A/N: I'm not that good at cliffhangers, I know. I'm sorry that it's so short – but that's the best I can do as of now! Please review, anyway!


	10. The Rescue

A/N: Once again, thanks for all of the reviews! I'm sorry that this story is going so slowly, but I've been slightly desperate for ideas, and at one point my computer crashed so I lost half of this chapter and had to retype it. But it's all okay now, so please read and review!

*

Lily tapped her foot impatiently. She was sitting in a green armchair in the Slytherin Common Room, her eyes glued on the numbers that encircled the dial of the silver clock hanging from the stone wall above the fireplace – now holding quietly smoldering logs. There was no one else in the Common Room besides her, but she didn't notice that. She was paying attention to the clock. It now read eleven forty. She had five minutes more to wait.

At eleven forty-five exactly, she and Remus would make their way down to the Forbidden Forest together – to meet with Voldemort. Remus had used Lily's idea of taking a broom to get help and decided instead on taking three brooms for all of them. (Remus didn't own a broom, so two of them would share one.)

Lily wasn't yet sure what they would find in the forest. All she knew was that Remus was going to meet Voldemort there. She didn't even know if James and Sirius would be there with him. And neither she nor Remus had managed to figure out who the 'third' victim had been – for the letter clearly stated that Voldemort had kidnapped three students.

Lily wasn't even sure whether she was doing the right thing by helping Remus. She knew it was a _good thing, but good things weren't always right, were they? Remus, James, and Sirius were Gryffindors. She was a Slytherin. And no matter how much she wanted to help them, how could she be sure that this just wasn't another one of their silly pranks? Remus could have made the whole thing up just to trick her. And even if this wasn't a prank, what was she doing, defying her own friends to help someone she had never even talked to till this week? If Severus found out about this – she didn't want to think about that._

The clock chimed the third quarter of the hour. It was time. Lily got up slowly. It felt strange to not wear robes. She was wearing Muggle clothes – a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. Remus had said it would be easier to move in Muggle clothing than in robes, and she had been happy to comply. She liked to have something _between her legs rather than just around them._

_Whoever invented pants was a genius. Whoever invented skirts, dresses, and robes must be rotting in Hell…_

Silently, Lily walked out of the Common Room, shutting the trapdoor behind her slowly. She looked around her, but couldn't see Remus anywhere. She walked along the empty hallway for a bit, trying to be as quiet as possible, but she couldn't help the echoes of her footsteps along the hallway. She was about to call out Remus' name when someone clamped a hand over her mouth. She was too shocked to scream.

"Lily, it's me!" hissed Remus.

Lily whirled around as he let go of her, but she couldn't see anything. She kept revolving on the spot, trying to find him, and it wasn't until he spoke again that she understood where he was.

"It's James' Invisibility Cloak. Get under it so we can go," he whispered again.

As soon as she found him and covered herself, they set off down the hall. She couldn't help notice how tall Remus was – he was a good half-foot taller than her short 5'3". But she didn't pay much attention to that. She was cold.

_You should have thought to bring a sweater._

"It's raining – that's good," Remus said softly to her as they passed through the double-doors from the Great Hall.

"How is that a good thing?" Lily asked, shivering.

"There won't be any footprints in the morning. And no one will be able to hear us," he explained. "You aren't too cold, are you?"

"No, it's okay. I'll get used to it. It rains a lot where I live. I like the rain. I just don't like the cold. Rain is cool. It's fun. Don't you love how it sounds? It has its own rhythm – like drumbeats…"

"You're starting to scare me…"

"What – haven't you ever listened to the rain before?" she asked, surprised.

"Not really – I've got better things to do."

Lily fought the urge to punch him on the nose. Instead, she stepped on his foot – hard.

"What was that for?" Remus asked her, massaging his toes.

"For insulting me – that's what."

"Right – remind me again why James likes you?"

"Shut up…" Lily said softly.

"Oh, oops – sorry – I didn't mean to –"

"It's okay. Just don't mention it again," Lily said, blushing furiously.

She was glad it was dark. She knew they had better keep going, but she pulled Remus back. She had to teach him a thing or two.

"Stop – and listen."

"Listen to what?"

"To the rain…"

Remus shot her a quizzical look, but complied with her request nevertheless. And he was glad he did. Lily was right; the rain did have a kind of rhythm to it. It was falling in big, heavy drops, splashing against the ground and flowing around them in tiny streams. There was a kind of magical beauty to it that he hadn't seen before.

He looked towards where Lily was, and then realized that she wasn't there. Pulling the Invisibility Cloak off of him, he saw that she, too, had taken it off. She was standing not far off, spinning about with her arms stretched out, the rain streaming through her hair and down her face. She was soaked to the skin now that she wasn't wearing the cloak any longer. He shook his head and walked up to her.

"Lily, do you want to dance in the rain or help James? It's your choice. I'm going to help James," Remus said.

"Okay, let's go," she said, grinning at him as she ran her hands through her wet, auburn hair.

"You like the rain, now, too, don't you?" she asked him.

He just smiled silently. They put the cloak back on and ran towards the broomshed near the Quidditch Pitch. Surprisingly, it took them less than a minute. Once they were inside, they took the cloak off again. Lily walked around, looking for her broom, as Remus looked for Remus' and Sirius' – or any other broom that belonged to a Gryffindor. Whereas a broom was a prized possession only to be used by its owner in the eyes of Slytherins, Gryffindors believed that brooms were meant to be shared. After they had collected them, they walked out into the rain again. Now, both of them were wet through, and the brooms were getting slightly wet too.

Lily mounted her broom and Remus got on behind her, holding the other two. He draped the cloak over them again, and they flew into the darkness. In less than two minutes, they were at the edge of the forest, near Hagrid's cabin.

Remus dismounted and handed the cloak to Lily, who wore it and flew slowly behind him. They weren't quite sure where to go, and just walked blindly into the forest. In a couple of minutes, though, Lily spotted a light in the distance, and she flew low to tell Remus. They went in the direction of the light, and soon they came into a clearing, where a big fire had been lit. Both Remus and Lily stopped in their tracks when the true meaning of their surroundings hit them.

Two hooded, cloaked figures were standing across from the fire, talking in low voices. Behind them, James and Sirius were bound to one another and a tree, facing away from the other. No one had spotted Remus and Lily's appearance. Lily was the first to come to her senses, and was about to dart forward, but Remus held her back just in time. She was still holding the other two broomsticks. They exchanged glances and nodded. Lily flew high until she was more than twenty feet above them, and went closer to Sirius and James, where they were being held. She hovered above them, waiting for Remus to make his entrance.

As Remus walked forward, he accidentally stepped on a dry twig, making it snap in half. The two hooded figures whirled around, warned by the sound, and saw him approaching them. Remus stopped in his tracks.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin, so you have decided to come after all?" the taller figure said.

"Yes, so can James and Sirius go, now?" Remus asked cautiously.

"It isn't that easy, werewolf-boy," the other person said.

"Peter – is that you?" Remus spat.

_So Lily was right, after all. Peter is in with all of this._

They both pulled back their hoods. Peter was shivering, but he had a menacing grin plastered on his face all the same. Voldemort beckoned to Remus to come closer, and so he took two more steps forward.

"Do you want me to let your little friends go?"

"Who's the third person?" Remus asked.

"I should have thought that was obvious."

"Who is it, Voldemort?"

"It's me, you idiot," Peter exclaimed.

"Oh, is it? Then, I needn't be worried. I thought you'd gotten someone else more _important. I suppose not," Remus said coolly, glaring at them nevertheless._

"Shut it, you," Peter glared back.

"Now, now, Wormtail, we must keep our tempers. We have a deal to make, after all," Voldemort cut in.

"What do you want with me?" Remus asked icily.

He had noticed a blur in the air above where James and Sirius were tied up. Lily was going to make her move, now. He had to keep them distracted for long enough so that they could get away at the very least.

"I want you, my boy. I want you to join me. You will be a very valuable possession – if I can acquire it. I want nothing more or less than to be your ally. Join me, and you may very well find yourself a worthy comrade. Refuse my offer, and you will only make me your enemy," Voldemort hissed.

"You were my enemy from the moment you kidnapped them!" Remus yelled.

On the other side of the clearing, Lily was whispering in James' ear.

"James, hush; be quiet! It's me – Lily. I came with Remus, and I've got to get you two out of here before they notice you're gone!" she whispered.

"Lily!" both James and Sirius whispered together.

"Stand back – I'm going to cut through these, okay?" she whispered to them, still riding all three brooms while wearing the cloak.

She descended slowly, and holding out her wand, she used a clean Severing Charm to cut through the ropes. In a matter of seconds, they had all fallen. Using an Illusion Charm, she made an optical illusion of the ropes, so that it looked as though they were still bound together.

"Stay here – and don't move. I'm going to give Remus a broom…" she muttered as she flew off towards Remus, leaving two brooms behind.

"You fool, that is not the way to speak to Lord Voldemort. I demand more respect, you see – curse him, Wormtail!"

"Cr – _Crucio!"_

In a second, the forest was filled with Remus' earsplitting yells as he rocked about on the ground with his hands and legs bent behind him. Lily fought the urge to scream herself as she descended upon him. In a moment, she looked at Voldemort out of pure hatred, and pulling out her wand again, she aimed at Peter and muttered a quick curse. Peter fell down – petrified. The curse was lifted. As quick as lightning, she pulled Remus onto her broom, covered him with the cloak and flew off towards James and Sirius.

Not bothering to be quiet, she yelled, "Get up here, right now! Come on, hurry up!"

James and Sirius didn't need to be told to be fast. They ran towards the brooms she had left them and mounted them. In a flash, they were by her side. Sirius pulled Remus onto his broom, as Lily's broom was specially made for Keepers – not meant to take more weight.

In five minutes, they were back in the broomshed, putting all the brooms back. Lily was panting with fear and excitement, and James and Sirius were massaging their arms where they had been burned by the rope. Remus was still only half-able to walk.

The four ran towards the castle, too panicked to use the cloak. James stuffed it in his pocket as he struggled to support Remus. Luckily, he was starting to regain feeling in his own legs, and could run on his own.

"We – we made it," Lily said, breathing heavily as they approached the castle.

"Yeah, we did," Sirius said, looking over his shoulder to make sure they hadn't been followed.

"That little rat – I can't believe him," Remus shouted, referring to Peter, of course.

"This isn't the time to worry about things like that. We have to go and tell Dumbledore," James exclaimed as he ran through the Great Hall.

The other three ran behind him, trying to catch up. As they approached the gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office, they heard someone come up behind them.

"Professor Dumbledore, we've got to tell you something!" Sirius said quickly.

"And I've got something to tell you four, too," he said, smiling.

He pulled out his wand and pointed it at each of them in turn.

"_Obliviate!" he said, erasing their memories._

All four of them blinked. What had happened?

"Well, students, I must say, you'd better be off to bed, now. I'm glad you managed to rescue Potter and Black, but that's no excuse for staying up after hours."

"Oh, yes, Professor…" they muttered.

They walked away still puzzling over the night's occurrences. They vaguely remembered what had happened, but there was something missing. What had they wanted to tell Dumbledore? Why were they aching all over – and why had they even been in the Forbidden Forest in the first place? Nothing made sense to them.

"Well, we'll sleep on it. It's bound to come back to us in the morning," Remus said, shrugging as he, James, and Sirius went their way towards their Common Room, and Lily to hers.

"Well, well, well – that's what _you think, werewolf," called Dumbledore._

For the second time that day, the Professor was not who they thought he was. With a flick of his wand, his entire appearance changed. He was Professor McGowan.

*


	11. More Diary Entries

*

I don't know what's happening. I don't know anything at all. I don't know what I'm doing, what I'm feeling – I'm in a world of darkness where there is no light to show me the way. I am completely lost. And it's not just in my feelings – it's in school and with my friends as well. I have a feeling that Martha told everyone. That wouldn't be good.

Well, I'm not quite sure that she's told anyone, though it's become quite obvious that she is mad at me for some reason. I think she knows why I was out with the Marauders that night, even though I still don't remember anything. I think she knows – everything. That's kind of a scary thought. But then, Martha and Severus are somewhat scary people. I think they know everything about me – things I've never even told them. I can't keep a thing from them. For all you know, Sev could have known about – my feelings – before I even confirmed them myself, or told Martha, or told Remus, or told – anyone. I'm not sure what to do. I think I'll go to bed – it's getting late and Martha seems to be getting suspicious about what I'm writing here.

*

I'm not sure if anyone's going to find this and read it, but well – I guess whoever does won't really find much. The only reason I'm writing in this – journal – is because Sirius told me to. Who knows why he's started giving me advice about this kind of stuff, but I don't really care. I just need to – how did he phrase it? Get it out of my system. But, wait, what am I trying to forget – Lily?

I don't understand what she does – but she just makes me feel as though – I don't know, actually. I mean, I _know, I just – don't. But that doesn't make sense. I know how I feel. I just can't explain it. But, __why can't I? What's so complex and confusing about it that I don't know how to express my feelings? I'm a prefect and the top of my year. And yet, I can't talk about some stupid girl._

No, not stupid – brilliant – amazing – wonderful… She's half mad, I swear. No, not half-mad, she's completely crazy. But I love her for it. She may be slightly mad, no, she's completely mad, but – jeez, I'm doing nothing but repeating myself. What good is that?

I don't even know why I love her for being crazy. I'm still not even sure if I love her or not. That's a pretty big word for a fifteen-year-old, that's all I know. No, I don't think I love her. It's just a stupid crush. No, not stupid – smart – unavoidable – but it won't plan my entire life based on her. I'm not _that – well, I don't like her __that much. I hope._

But how do I know how I really feel? I mean, how can I compare or test my feelings until I know for sure what my feelings are? All I know is that – well, Lily isn't much to look at, unless you count her emerald eyes. As for how smart she is, I don't really know. She's a prefect according to Remus, but I don't know much else. She's an amazing flyer and a Keeper. That I know for a fact. She's got courage and she's a feisty, quick-tongued girl. But other than that, I know next to nothing about her. Then why am I so crazy about her?

Honestly, if I'm not crazy, I don't know _what I am! I can't get her out of my mind. Seriously, I haven't been able to get to sleep the last few days just because I can't get her face out of my mind. And it's not as though I see her all the time, or something. I barely see her – and yet it's as though I see her all over the place. I keep thinking she's said my name or laughed at me or with me or something, even if she's not there. I don't know __what's wrong with me._

I must be mad. That's the only explanation. A nice couple we'd make. She's half-mad – or completely mad, rather, dragging us out in the middle of the night into the Forbidden Forest – and me, I'm as mad as can be about _her, who's even madder? I'm not even making sense anymore. Well, that's a relief, in a way. Anyone who tries to read this stupid thing won't be able to make head or tail of it. I can't even make head or tail of it, come to that._

Crikey, if Sirius or Remus find this – I didn't mean to write _this much down in this – this – book or journal or diary or whatever it is. If they find it – I'm toast. The rest of my life is going to be filled with nothing but they're taunting me and teasing me. Oh no, what if __Lily finds it? Then I'm going to be a burnt toast. Ha, that was stupid. But it's true. If she knows what I feel like – well, they probably don't call her the Slytherin Queen for nothing. She's probably got some kind of hatred for Gryffindors deep down inside of her. Or else, she probably has some sort of prejudice against guys who like her…_

I'm stupid, having a one-sided conversation like this, or rather, writing to myself like this – or whatever it is I'm doing. I just need to forget about her – that's it – just forget. Forget and be happy. That's the only solution. I'll just forget I ever met a Muggle-born redhead with beautiful emerald green eyes (A/N: Lol, my friends were going through their Religion facts – "One heart and one mind in the heart of Jesus" – and I was about to write that down instead of what I really meant! That would've been strange – _extremely strange...) named Liliane Evans. It's as easy as that._

Or should I say, easier said than done?

*


End file.
